Zucchini and leek soup

Written by Catherine Saxelby on Tuesday, 07 July 2009.
Tagged: easy, healthy cooking, low fat, soup, vegetables

Ready In: 20 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

If you have lots of zucchini (courgette or squash), this is a simple recipe to turn them into a lovely light soup. Here's the trick: make sure you cook both the zucchini and the leeks for long enough first so they're quite soft before you puree.

Ingredients

3-4 medium zucchini, around 500 g or 1 lb
2 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
¾ cup low-fat plain yoghurt
freshly ground black pepper
TO SERVE:
3 slices wholemeal bread, toasted and cubed for croutons (optional)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Nutrition per serve

640 Kilojoules (153 Calories), 2 g fat (including 1 g saturated fat), 19 g carbohydrate (including 8 g sugars), 5 g fibre, 470 mg sodium *. Read our nutrition rating system.

Directions

1. Slice the zucchini and leek thinly. Place in a saucepan with the chicken stock.

2. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5-7 minutes or until soft. Cool slightly and puree in a food processor or with a hand-held stick blender.

3. Return to the saucepan, add parsley and heat through. Stir through the yoghurt and pepper without boiling. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and topped with a few toasted croutons if you like.

Variations

Use two medium onions, peeled and sliced, instead of the leeks.
If you prefer a smooth soup without any 'bits', add the parsley in Step 2 and puree everything.

* The sodium (salt) level will vary depending on which chicken stock you use. If you're on a low-salt diet, make your own at home from chicken bones. Try mine. Most commercial stocks add a lot of sodium.