Zucchini Puree with Oregano Cream

Happy weekend everyone!

My Saturday so far has been lovely. I put my juicer to work for breakfast, finished up this week’s IIN lecture, took Harley for a long walk, and visited the Morgan Hill farmers’ market and health food store. Today was the first time I’d been to my town’s farmers’ market in awhile, and I forgot how much I love just walking around markets picking up local food. There’s a certain energy at a market filled with locally grown food and the happy farmers and workers who sell it. My market picks:

All of the apples I’ve been getting at food stores have been browning quickly and aren’t as crisp. It’s amazing how much crisper and fresh the apple is that I’m eating at the moment, along with some strawberries (Strawberries in January? Sure why not!) while sitting on my patio enjoying the beautiful day. I also couldn’t resist raw honey made in the town next to me, some multi-colored carrots and cherry tomatoes, as well as mandarins and ginger, which are staples of mine when it comes to juicing. I’m planning on using the broccoli rabe to make an easy pasta & broccoli with garlic and oil dish during the week, and how could I say no to nabbing sunflowers to brighten up my kitchen table? But I digress.

Speaking of veggies, the recipe I’m talking about today centers around zucchini.

Zucchini is a staple veggie in my kitchen. I almost never know what I’ll use it for when I buy it, but I know it’ll get used somehow, because I throw zucchini into so many different dishes. If I’m making rice, I’ll throw some sautéed zucchini into the mix. If I cook a simple pasta with marinara dish, diced zucchini finds its way in there. Not to mention my almost weekly quesadilla dinners, which inevitably wind up happening when I get home from the gym starving and need to make something to eat as quickly as my little fingers will allow me to prepare a meal.

I can’t take credit for this zucchini puree, as I spotted it in my Williams-Sonoma Soup book recently when browsing it, since I’ve been soup obsessed this fall and winter. I made minimal changes to the original recipe, which includes just a simple ingredient list. Besides zucchini, the other star of the dish is fresh oregano – an aromatic, spicy herb. What pulls the puree together well and gives it the extra kick it needs is the oregano cream, which is made simply from sour cream (or plain yogurt), fresh oregano and salt and pepper.

I served the puree with fresh toasted bread for dipping. My hubby and I both loved this meal. I don’t recall how much he actually verbalized this at the time, but I know so because the leftover soup was gone by the next day. That is always the surefire sign of a thumbs up from him!

Zucchini Puree with Oregano Cream

Williams-Sonoma Soup

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Servings 4

Calories 125 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 6 zucchini trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 small yellow onion finely chopped
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 TBSP plus 1 TSP of finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup light sour cream or plain yogurt
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the zucchini and season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue to saute until the zucchini and onion are browned, 5-7 minutes longer.
• Add the vegetable stock and 2 TBSP of the oregano, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove the soup from heat.
• To make the oregano cream, stir together the sour cream, remaining 1 TSP or oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
• In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pan and reheat it. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with a big spoonful of oregano cream. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 125kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 6gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2.5gFiber: 3gSugar: 12g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

If you have some zucchini around that need to be used, are a zucchini lover, or are just looking for a new healthy soup to make, go ahead and click the print button and give this recipe a try!