My wife dubbed this “healthy soup” after tasting it first time, but did acknowledge that despite tasting “very healthy” it was also “very tasty”. Lovage is an underutilised but interesting herb that adds a lot of flavour to the soup. If you can’t find any then a mix of parsley and celery leaves will provide a similar flavour profile.
Recipe
Serves 4. Active time 10 mins. Cook time 20 mins.
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 courgettes (I used 1 green, 1 yellow), chopped
Half a butternut squash (or equivalent of other squash)
Handful of fresh lovage, stalks and leaves, chopped
Vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Method
Add a good glug of oil to a pot over a medium heat. Add the onions and cook until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and lovage stalks, cook for a minute more then add the courgette and squash. Stir to coat all well in the oil and cook another minute then add the vegetable stock to cover everything.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or so until the vegetables are all soft. Blend the soup to your desired consistency, taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with crusty bread, a sharp cheese and a drizzle of oil if desired. If you’ve any lovage leaves left a few of those wouldn’t go amiss. As with most soups, this freezes well so make extra and stock up your freezer!
A bit of a blether
Not much to say on this one, was a bit if an experiment that turned out well. I’d never had lovage before, it has a lovely fresh flavour reminiscent of celery and parsley and paired nicely with the softer flavours of the courgette and squash. Soup is a great way to use up any veg cluttering up your fridge.
Thanks for reading,
Matthew
A Sincere Love of Food 