Zucchini Pesto Soup

This was a very popular soup when I was running my PlantPot meal delivery service but for some reason it has taken me a long while to get around to uploading it here!.  It was adapted from a recipe on Taste.com when I found myself with a glut of zucchinis and a beautiful bunch of basil. I adapted the recipe to a vegan version, removing the the cream and using some cashew cream instead. This is a lovely pretty green soup that makes a great weeknight dinner with bread and salad but can be tarted up to great effect with garnishing it with cashew cream, lemon zest, basil and chopped hazelnuts.  Enjoy! 🙂

Zucchini Pesto Soup
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Summery soup flavoured with basil, this can also be served chilled.
Author:
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 500g chopped zucchini
  • 2 medium potatoes peeled and diced
  • 3-4 cups vegetable stock (depends on size of potatoes and how thick you like it!)
  • ½ cup basil leaves
  • ⅓ cup cashew cream (soak 2 tablespoons of cashews in hot water to cover and blend)
  • Sea salt & pepper
  • Finely grated lemon rind
  • Basil leaves, extra to garnish
Instructions
  1. Put the diced zucchini in a large saucepan with the potatoes and stock.
  2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
  3. Turn off the heat and add the basil leaves and cashew cream.
  4. Use a stick blender to blend until thick and creamy.
  5. Add the lemon zest and allow to sit for 10 minutes for flavours to meld.
  6. Ideally served and room temperature.
  7. Top with extra cashew cream, lemon zest and chopped basil leaves for a pretty presentation. 🙂