Farmers market soup with leek, zucchini, and peas
What could be a better birthday gift than a basket filled with farmers market goodies? Some kind colleagues surprised me last week with a great selection from our Uptown Oakland farmers market. Among the delicious looking offerings in my gift basket: a leek and several zucchinis. Once home, I spread the produce out on my counter to ponder the possibilities. I quickly decided I had the makings for a simple leek and zucchini soup.
The next day, I ran into Preston Maring, who has retired from Kaiser Permanente but is still a passionate home cook and farmers market fan. I ran the ingredients by him and offered that I might include garbanzo beans for some protein and substance. He suggested fresh peas instead. "That will make it a perfect spring time soup," he said.
I followed his advice and the soup was light and delicious. Two teens in the house also said they liked it and left two empty bowls. I plan to make it again often and vary the ingredients depending on the season.
Servings: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 leek, white and light green part only, diced
- 3 medium sized zucchini, diced
- 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
- 3 or 4 small new potatoes, peeled and cut into fourths
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs for garnish (such as mint, basil and/or thyme)
- Lemon juice to taste
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot.
- Saute garlic and leeks in the olive oil until soft but not brown.
- Add zucchini and continue to stir for about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add vegetable broth and bring to a gentle boil.
- Turn down heat to simmer and add potatoes.
- Simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
- Add peas and cook for an additional few minutes.
- Puree soup in a blender to your liking. I prefer to leave some of the chunks of vegetables.
- Taste and season.
- Before serving, add juice of half of a lemon and garnish with fresh basil, mint or other herbs.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 210
- Total fat: 8 g
- Saturated fat: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 220 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 26 g
- Dietary fiber: 6 g
- Total sugars: 7 g
- Protein: 11 g