Zucchini Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep zucchini from getting soggy in soup? ›

Slice and salt zucchini in advance of cooking to draw out some of the vegetable's excess moisture (while also seasoning it more thoroughly).

Store it: For up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Freeze it: You can pour the soup into a freezer safe container, like my favorite Weck Jars or use these amazing silicone Souper Cubes – just pop them out into a bowl and reheat! Either way, the soup will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Double cream

It contains no thickeners, boasts 45 to 60 per cent milk fat, and is ideal for dollopping on your desserts, adding to your baking and stirring into soups and slow-cooked meals (we're talking rich, comforting goulash here) to give that extra creamy texture and taste.

The main problem that confronts the cook when preparing zucchini is its wateriness. Zucchini is 95 percent water (among vegetables, only lettuce contains more water) and will become soupy if it is just thrown into a hot pan.

No vegetable garden is complete without a zucchini bush or two! When exposed to environmental stress, poor soil pH, or poor soil nutrition, zucchinis trigger the production of cucurbitacin, a natural phytonutrient that helps the plant overcome stress but consequently results in the unwanted bitter taste.

A general rule of thumb is that soup can be stored in the refrigerator for about three days, but you should always taste your dish before deciding to reheat. A clear, vegetable-based soup with some acidity, such as tomatoes, may last longer. Chicken soup usually lasts three to five days.

For best safety and quality, plan to eat refrigerated soup within 3 to 4 days or freeze it. And avoid letting soup set at room temperature for more than TWO hours.

While freezing zucchini is a great way to extend its life, it's not as simple as just popping a few squash into your freezer. Raw zucchini gets weepy and watery after thawing. To effectively save it, you should chop and blanch it first. This helps set the texture and color and makes it last longer.

Yes, you can definitely add cream to your soup. Whether you use a few tablespoons or a few cups, cream gives soup a silky mouthfeel and rich flavor. You can definitely add milk or other dairy as well, though it will taste gradually less creamy as you go down in percent.

So, if you're cooking something forgiving like soup or mashed potatoes, heavy cream and half-and-half are virtually interchangeable in equal amounts, yes—both will give you that creamy texture we all love and crave. Just be mindful that heavy cream contains more fat, so it will taste much richer.

Can I use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream? ›

Evaporated milk can be used as a substitute in recipes in which heavy cream is used as a liquid ingredient, such as in baked goods, but it doesn't whip well. Substitute the heavy cream in your recipes with an equal amount of evaporated milk.

If you've ever wondered if you should try and squeeze out some of the water from your shredded zucchini before adding it to batter or dough, the answer (happily) is no!

The secret to zucchini with the best flavor and texture is roasting it in a 450°F oven. Roasting zucchini at a high temperature instead of baking or sautéing helps develop browning and a slight char on the outside, which keeps it from getting soggy.

After the soup has started to boil, reduce to a simmer and make sure that it stays there. Boil the soup too vigorously, and the vegetables will get mushy, the meat will toughen, and the noodles will start to break down. Simmering allows more flavors to develop and deepen.

You only need a little salt — half a teaspoon of kosher salt for one medium zucchini, say — to start pulling the water out. Use more, and the zucchini will simply taste like zucchini-flavored salt. If you try to rinse out the extra salt, you risk adding back in the water you just tried to get rid of.

Mushy veggies are also often the result of overcooking. When the interior is loaded with moisture, you have to cook it for much longer to evaporate all of the water and avoid the interior having the unappealing, spongy, raw texture that eggplant and zucchini are notorious for.