I Know It’s Not Really Soup Season…

Or maybe it is?  Our weather has been so wonky this summer, one day it feels like soup or stew weather, and the next it’s a salad day.  However, the salad days have actually been few and far between.  And as to the soup, well, I adore a good bowl of soup anytime of the year-especially at lunch time.  There’s just something absolutely delightful about a bowl of soup and a hunk of bread at lunchtime, that I could eat it every day of my life and be a happy camper.  Of course, it helps that soup has limitless possibilities, and I seldom make the same one twice in a row.

Today’s soup utilizes some of the bounty of summer that is showing up at the markets in full force. This Spinach-Zucchini Soup from the Septemeber 2009 edition of Vegetarian Times fits the bill as a perfect lunch soup.  It’s light in flavor, refreshing, but just hearty enough to ward off a hungry belly for a few hours.  It also is incredibly quick and easy to put together- it definitely took less than 30 minutes from start to finish.  The only change I made was to eliminate the mint- I’m just not much of a fan, although I do like it from time to time.  Instead, I used fresh basil, but in retrospect, I think fresh dill would have been an even better compliment to the bright lemon flavor. Don’t skip the lemon- it totally made the soup, and was just as tasty the next day. Oh, and as I always find with Vegetarian Times recipes, it really needed seasoning at the end- so feel free to add salt and pepper to taste.

Spinach-Zucchini Soup

1 1/2 TBS olive oil

1 large onion, diced (2 cups)

1 medium zucchini, cut into 3/4 inch pieces (2 cups)

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups cooked white beans, such as cannellini (or 1 15-oz can, rinsed and drained)

4 cups baby spinach (4 ozs)

2 TBS lemon juice (freshly squeezes)

2 tsp grated lemon zest (I used zest from 1/2 a lemon)

4 tsp finely chopped mint leaves (I used basil, dill would be great too!)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion 3 to 5 minutes, or until translucent.  Add zucchini, and cook 8 minutes more, or until vegetables are well browned.  Add vegetable broth and water, and bring to a boil.  Stir in beans and spinach, and return to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, or until spinach is wilted.  Stir in lemon juice, zest, and mint.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.