September arrives, and we immediately restart with Light and Tasty recipes. Welcome back! 😊 My recipe for this first appointment of the season is a rice and zucchini soup, a dish midway between summer and autumn.
I have a little backstory, almost an anecdote, about the genesis of this recipe. 😃 If you followed this blog in August, you already know that I participated in a showcase of recipes from movies, among which is a peach pie. Initially, watching the movie (from which I was supposed to derive the pie), I hadn’t heard the audio clearly and missed two magical words said by the protagonist (i.e.: “from Georgia”), crucial to understanding what kind of peach pie it was. Since the movie doesn’t provide the precise recipe, I instinctively thought it was a clafoutis, based on observing the pie and how it was served, portioned with a spoon. And here came my first discovery: a clafoutis changes name when made with fruit other than cherries, becoming a flaugnarde. Something I didn’t know! I started writing the recipe, all proud of my new knowledge about the difference between clafoutis and flaugnarde, when discovery number two struck. I was getting it all wrong! Re-watching snippets of the movie, I caught the words “from Georgia” that had escaped me! And suddenly, I had a revelation: the movie’s pie is a Georgia peach pie, a traditional American recipe, not at all a French peach flaugnarde! Great Scott! I studied the history of the famous peach cobbler, found the recipe, prepared it, ate it, wrote it. And the also famous peach flaugnarde recipe that I had already written… guess what I decided to do with it? I decided to propose it for the upcoming first release of Light and Tasty! Until – discovery number three! – I found out that our Daniela had also planned a peach flaugnarde for today. 🤩 Coincidences, anyone? 😃
But the truth is, Daniela and I are so in sync that we can only decide on the same recipes (apart from the fact that I decide them by mistake… but let’s not nitpick!) 😃
And so, with the flaugnarde published separately, I decided for today to propose a recipe that I had wanted to bring out of my archive for a long time: the rice and zucchini soup. I am delighted to present this recipe because it is perfectly suited for this column, especially for this first appointment dedicated to late-season ingredients. Sometimes it’s true that when one door closes, a bigger one opens! 😄
The photos of this recipe date back to a period when I prepared recipes for a culinary project dedicated to the elderly (subsequently unfortunately suspended). It is one of those recipes that instinctively remind one of grandma’s recipes, one of those comforting recipes that can’t be missed on the first chilly evenings of late summer and early autumn.
Even though zucchinis have been available for sale practically all year for years, I rarely buy them in winter; for me, they remain a summer vegetable, and used in a soup or a stew, they make the dish a mid-season dish.
The rice and zucchini soup is a soft soup with a delicate flavor, making it suitable even for children, the younger ones, who like zucchinis. Before their tastes change in adolescence! (any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental… 😄).
And it is a soup that also pleases the cook, because it is really simple to prepare; just cut the zucchinis, and the rest practically cooks itself!
Have I convinced you to prepare it for dinner tonight? I have two zucchinis at home; maybe I will… 😉
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer, Autumn
Ingredients
- 4.23 oz rice (originario or vialone nano)
- 10.58 oz zucchini (one zucchini, or two small ones)
- 1.76 lbs vegetable broth
- 1 shallot
- 0.71 oz butter
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- basil
- parsley
- pepper (optional)
Tools
- Casserole
- Lid
- Knife
Steps
Here are the necessary ingredients: rice, vegetable broth, zucchini, shallot or onion, butter or oil, basil and parsley, parmesan cheese.
In a high-rimmed casserole, sauté the sliced or chopped shallot in a little butter (or a drizzle of oil).
Cut the zucchini into pieces and add them to the pot.
Let it flavor and cook for 5 minutes with the lid closed.
Pour in the vegetable broth.
And then the rice.
Stir.
Bring to a boil and cook over low heat, with the lid ajar, for 20-25 minutes.
During cooking, if needed, more hot broth can be added.
About halfway through cooking, season with basil and parsley.
When cooking is complete, the rice and zucchini soup should be soft, not too brothy, but not dry.
Serve the soup hot or, even better, lukewarm.
Add a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese to each plate and, optionally, a pinch of pepper.
Salt-free tips
Essential in this soup is the use of high-quality zucchinis, and the addition of aromatic herbs.
Remember that brothy soups are a recurring food in the diet of children and the elderly, and for both, a diet without (or with little) salt is recommended. Especially it is advised not to use broths prepared with industrial cubes.
Preparing vegetable broth at home is very simple, either starting from fresh vegetables or dehydrated ones. Below are links to my recipes for homemade vegetable broth and drying vegetables for granules:
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If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually reduce salt, the palate must get used to it slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, baking, steaming, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself a little indulgence. It’s good for the mood and helps to persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
Follow me!
In my new WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page, on Pinterest and in my two groups: Il gruppo di Catia, in cucina e oltre and Just what I was looking for! and if you like… subscribe to my Newsletter.
Other Light and Tasty recipes:And here are the recipes from my colleagues on the Team Light and Tasty! Welcome back to everyone!
Carla Emilia: Oven-baked vegetables
Claudia: Tomato carpaccio with olives
Daniela: Flaugnarde with yellow peaches
Elena: Homemade ketchup and BBQ sauce
Milena: Marinated zucchinis
