Zucchini Soup with Homemade Croutons
Courtesy of Patrice Marquez

For the Soup:

3 medium zucchini (approx. 1 ½ pounds total)

1 small yellow onion chopped

2 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons olive oil

Vegetable stock

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the zucchini into approximately ½ inch pieces (try to keep the pieces about the same size so that they cook evenly).  Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and sauté for a few minutes or until the onion is cooked but not browned.  Add the chopped zucchini to the onions and stir so that the zucchini gets coated with the oil.  Cook the zucchini for about 3-4 minutes to slightly soften.  Add the fresh thyme and enough vegetable stock to just cover the zucchini.  Alternatively, you could just use water instead of stock or use half stock and half water .  Cook over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes or until the zucchini is completely soft.  Remove the pan from the heat and either add the soup to a blender or you can use an immersion blender directly in the sauce pan.  Puree the soup until it is smooth.  If you used a blender, add the soup back to the sauce pan to keep warm and taste to adjust for seasoning.  At this point, you can add a touch of cream, if desired. 

For the Croutons

2 English muffins cut into bite size pieces

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 glove of garlic (peeled but not cut)

1 teaspoon of dried Italian herb seasoning blend (or you can use any dried herb that you like)

A pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional – if you like a little spice)

1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium sauté pan, heat olive (medium heat).  Add the garlic clove and let it cook for a few minutes.  When the garlic is slightly golden, remove it from the pan and discard.  Add the English muffin croutons to the pan and stir so that they are coated in the olive oil.  Add the dried herbs, pepper flakes (if desired) and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook the bread cubes until they are golden and crisp making sure to stir them frequently so they don’t burn.  Once they are golden, remove the pan for the heat and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the croutons.  The residual heat will start to melt the cheese right onto the croutons.

To Serve:

Place soup into a soup bowl and add some of the homemade croutons right on top.  I like to finish it with a small drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.