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Use up some of that summer zucchini in this delicious and hearty soup.
Use That Summer Zucchini
Still have some of that zucchini left from the summer garden? Or maybe it was a neighbor who unloaded some excess on you?
I’ve heard lots of jokes about zucchini’s abundance. To be honest, my late husband and I never had any success with growing it. One year’s yield was one. The next year we grew a round zucchini variety since it claimed to be a “prolific grower.” The year we grew that, we got two. For us it was prolific.
Since we loved zucchini, we relied on the kindness of others to give us what they couldn’t use. Besides the usual minestrone, I wanted to incorporate it into a nice creamy style soup. Cream soups are my passion.
Sausage Makes It A Meal
I might add at this point that zucchini freezes well after it’s been blanched and dried. When it’s been frozen, it’s perfect for soups.
My husband and I were fond of making soups a meal along with a crusty roll and a salad.
The types of soup I regard as a complete meal are hearty and stick to your ribs. Mind you, this quality isn’t dependent on meat. Adding beans, rice and potatoes are excellent options if you’re vegetarian. I’ll get to the vegans later in the post.
This soup uses meat. Bulk Italian sausage to be exact. Sausage also flavors the soup since it’s full of herbs and spices. That way there’s no complicated seasonings besides the basic salt and pepper.
I used sweet Italian sausage meat in this, but you could use the hot variety or any other specialty variety that your store stocks. If you do use the hot sausage, then omit the red pepper flakes unless you want to make it more zippy. I only used a pinch since my husband was not into “zippy.” A pinch will impart a nice flavor and won’t be hot at all.
For The Vegans
You can use the suggestion in the above paragraph when you don’t use meat at all. And for the cream, nut milks–any variety–would be a great substitute. Vegan butter or olive oil can stand in for the regular butter and a high-quality vegetable stock is a good sub for the chicken stock.
The Recipe
Zucchini Sausage Soup
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 8 oz sweet Italian sausage meat
- 2 tbs butter
- 6 medium zucchini sliced (1 1/2 lbs)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half cream or light cream. See NOTES
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Thickening:
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and the onion and cook until the sausage is no longer pink, breaking up into smaller bits as it cooks.
- Add the zucchini, chicken stock, salt and pepper flakes. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender.
- Add the cream and heat through.
- If you wish to thicken the soup, mix the flour and water and gradually stir into the soup. Heat until the soup gently bubbles then cook, stirring frequently, until the flour is cooked--about 5 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
