My grandmother is great at cooking healthy foods.  My grandfather was diabetic, so I think that had something to do with it.  Desserts are a different story, but when it comes to pretty much everything else, there is not a lot of butter or cream in her cooking.

When I was growing up, they had a wonderful garden in their backyard.  They had lots of fresh vegetables whenever I would come to stay with them – especially tomatoes and zucchini.  I didn’t know it then, but in a location that gets very hot and sunny in the summer – these are two of the easiest vegetables to grow – and you get a lot of them.  My grandmother would make this cold zucchini soup that I just loved – I am pretty sure it only had three ingredients – zucchini, onions and chicken stock.  She would cook the zucchini and onions in the chicken stock until they were soft, and then put them in a blender.  It was almost too easy.

I was looking at the 6 zucchini I had accumulated with my CSA market basket, and the potatoes and onions in the pantry – and decided it was time to make soup.  Instead of making my grandmother’s recipe though, I decided on a recipe I saw in the Martha Stewart Cookbook – Good Food Fast.  This recipe had a potato to make it creamy – and curry to give it a little kick.  I adapted the recipe slightly below – and I loved it.  The soup was silky with a nice mild curry flavor – when I warmed it up the next night, I actually added some additional chicken stock since it had thickened so much.  Adding just a spoon of yogurt and chives on the top was the icing on the cake.  For a healthy soup, this cannot be beat.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• coarse salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), sliced 1 inch thick
• 1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 4 cups chicken stock
• yogurt for garnish
• chives, chopped for garnish

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and sprinkle with salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and curry powder; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the zucchini, potato, and 4 cups of chicken stock.  Bring to a boil; reduce the heat, and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

In batches, puree the soup in a blender (do not fill more than halfway) until smooth; seanson with salt and pepper then serve immediately, or let cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container until chilled.  Garnish with the yogurt and chives.

Serves 4

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Curried Zucchini Soup