Chefs' Recipes

Lake House's zucchini and basil soup

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for Lake House's zucchini and basil soup.

By Alla Wolf-Tasker
  • 40 mins preparation
  • 35 mins cooking plus resting
  • Serves 6
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Zucchini and basil soup

Ingredients

  • 60 ml olive oil (¼ cup)
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1.5 kg small green zucchini, diced (about 15)
  • 1.2 litres hot chicken or vegetable stock
  • ¾ cup (firmly packed) basil, coarsely chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
  • To serve: thinly sliced toasted baguette and goat's curd
Tempura zucchini flowers
  • 150 gm plain flour (1 cup)
  • 50 gm cornflour
  • 1 egg
  • 400 ml iced mineral water
  • For deep-frying: vegetable oil
  • 12 zucchini flowers, stamens removed

Method

Main
  • 1
    Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat, add onion and garlic, stir occasionally until tender (7-8 minutes). Increase heat to high, add zucchini and stir occasionally until bright green (2-3 minutes). Add stock, bring to the boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until just tender (10-12 minutes). Stir in basil, then purée in a blender or with a hand-held blender until smooth. Season to taste, keep warm.
  • 2
    Meanwhile, for tempura zucchini flowers, combine flours in a bowl. Whisk egg and mineral water to combine in a separate bowl. Gradually whisk into flour mixture, adding extra water if necessary to reach desired batter consistency. Set aside to rest (15 minutes). Preheat oil in a deep saucepan or deep-fryer to 180C. Dip zucchini flowers in batter, shake off excess and deep-fry in batches, turning occasionally, until golden (3-4 minutes; be careful as hot oil will spit). Drain on absorbent paper and season to taste.
  • 3
    Serve soup hot topped with extra basil leaves, with tempura zucchini flowers, toasted baguette and goat's curd.

Notes

At the Lake House, Alla Wolf-Tasker serves house-made goat's curd with this soup. We've used a good-quality shop-bought cheese instead. Small zucchini are best for this recipe as they're young, tender and sweet.
This recipe is from the November 2011 issue of
.