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Slow Cooker Courgette Soup
A delicious summer courgette or zucchini soup, velvety smooth and delicious hot or chilled.
Servings: 6
Equipment
- Stick / Immersion Blender (UK) Get one with the highest wattage you can, and ideally a steel shaft
Ingredients
- 1 onion - medium sized
- 2 sticks celery
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 knob butter
- 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
- 3 courgettes - medium sized - not too big
- 1 potato - medium, or 2 small
- 1 stock cube or stock pot - vegetable or chicken
- pepper and salt - to taste
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 handful fresh chopped herbs
Optional
- 3 tbsp cream - double or single according taste
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion. Top and tail the celery and chop. Peel and chop the garlic. Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan and then gently fry the onion and celery for about 5 minutes.1 onion, 2 sticks celery, 1 clove garlic, ½ tbsp olive oil, 1 knob butter
- Add the garlic and seasoning and cook for about a minute.1 tsp mixed dried herbs
- Trim and chop the courgettes and dice the potatoes into even sized pieces. Place in the slow cooker along with the onion mix and the stock cube.3 courgettes, 1 potato, 1 stock cube or stock pot
- Boil the kettle and add two cups of hot water to the slow cooker pot. Make sure the stock cube is submerged but don't be tempted to add extra water to cover the vegetables, as they will release water in cooking.
- Put the lid on and cook for 2–3 hours on High. Stir half way through cooking.
- Use a stick blender to blend to a smooth, velvety soup. Add pepper and salt to taste, and add a generous squeeze of lemon juice. If you want to make a cream soup, blend this in too.juice of half a lemon, 3 tbsp cream, pepper and salt
- Serve hot or chilled, garnished with the chopped fresh herbs.1 handful fresh chopped herbs
Notes
Storage
Fridge – Cool leftovers and transfer to a sealed container in the fridge to store for three days. Freezer – This soup freezes well, though if you want to add cream, leave this out and add when you defrost your soup. Transfer to sealed freezer containers as soon as the soup is cooled and freeze, storing for up to three months. If you are cooking the soup to freeze it, you can reduce the amount of liquid and make a concentrated soup to thin when you heat it. This saves space in the freezer.Hints and tips
- Sauté the vegetables as described for best results. Some soups work as a ‘dump and start’ approach but this one really benefits from the extra step.
- Using boiling water at the start ensures the stock cube dissolves fully from the start and helps to bring the slow cooker up to a simmer quickly.
- Don’t be tempted to add extra water at the outset. If it is needed, you can add some when you come to stir the pot, but you cannot take it away and courgettes are watery vegetables.
- Don’t skip the lemon juice. It transforms the soup.
- A cheap stick blender is, if anything, better for hot soup than a fancy blender. You don’t need anything else.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.
Calories: 118kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 485mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 511IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg