Baby Marrow (Courgette) and Basil Soup

Always on the look out for ways to zhoosh up my veggies, especially those which I eat regularly, and thinking of satisfying soups as the cold weather approaches, I came across a pretty bland fat-free recipe for baby marrow / courgette and basil which, which lacked depth in flavor.

Testing the ingredients, which can definitely be further tweaked to appeal to various tastes, I put this together and the result was a satisfying soup .  I used home made chicken stock, added chilli for heat and home made green curry paste as a flavor enhancer.  This turned out into quite a delightfully tasty soup concoction which may be further improved by adding coconut milk if desired.  The sweetness of the basil, infused with other spices, adds a flavorsome taste to the blandness of the baby marrow.  I used small courgettes.

 

Ingredients

 

1 onion, sliced

1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil, olive oil infusions, or macadamia nut oil

12 baby marrows, sliced

2 cups (500 ml)home made stock of choice or water

4 tbsp (60 ml) fresh leaves, torn

1 tsp (5 ml)  salt, or to taste

a pinch of cayenne pepper or freshly-ground black pepper, or to taste

Optional
roasted cumin seeds added to the oil and onion
lemon pepper to replace black pepper
green chilli / green curry paste
sweet potato

 

Here's How

 

• Add the, cumin seeds, onion and oil of choice in a deep pot and fry for a few minutes until soft and translucent.

 

• Add in the baby marrows and stock or water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until tender.

• Add in the sweet basil.
• Blend the soup until smooth and add an extra cup of water if the soup is too thick. Season to taste.
• You may also add 1 tblsp fish sauce into the soup, stirring well, at the end of cooking for extra flavouring.
• Serve with Paleo Bread

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