Creamy courgette (zucchini), leek, lime and basil soup

If you're looking for a light summer soup, you'll love this recipe. It's sweet, creamy (though no dairy products involved), light and delicious.

Courgettes or zucchini are a type of summer squash that resemble a cucumber in size and shape. They are low in calories and provide reasonable amounts of vitamin C, potassium and carotenes.

Carotenes are powerful antioxidants and help to protect the body from cancer and other chronic diseases.

Leeks have similar nutritional properties to onions. They are a good source of vitamins B6, C and folic acid; the minerals manganese and iron; and dietary fibre.

Like onions, leeks contain numerous beneficial substances, including flavonoids. In clinical studies, these substances have been shown to help decrease blood lipid levels and blood sugar levels.

The active blood sugar lowering compound is believed to be allyl propyl disulphide (APDS). Evidence suggests that APDS competes with insulin for breakdown sites in the liver, thereby increasing the life span of insulin.

Whenever possible, I add sea vegetables to my recipes, as they are rich in minerals and soluble fibre, which soothes the digestive tract.

So here's the recipe - hope you enjoy it - and please leave any questions or comments below.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Olive oil (1 tbsp)
• A small pinch of fine sea salt
• 3 medium leeks (sliced in half lengthwise, washed and cut in small pieces)
• 3 courgettes (zucchini) (washed and sliced)
• 1 strip wakame sea vegetable (soaked for 5 minutes and cut into small pieces)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1-2 tablespoons fresh basil (chopped)
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 2-3 cups water
• 1 dessertspoon of white (shiro) miso. You can use a stock cube or home made vegetable stock instead. I use miso because it's full of beneficial nutrients and antioxidants. Please click here to read more about cooking with miso.
• Fresh basil to garnish

Method

Heat a saucepan, add the oil and a pinch of sea salt and gently saute the leeks for 5 to 10 minutes until soft and translucent

Add the rinsed wakame sea vegetable, courgettes (zucchini) and just enough water to cover the vegetables. If using dried basil, add now.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until soft. If using fresh basil, add now after the other vegetables have cooked so you preserve the flavour.

Add the lime juice and blend to a smooth consistency, adjusting the liquid if necessary.

Dilute 1 dessert spoon of white miso in a little water and add gradually to the soup. Keep tasting until you have added enough miso to obtain a flavour you love.

Serve garnished with some fresh basil.

Nutritional information

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Celery and sweetcorn chowder

Celery and Sweetcorn Chowder
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This simple, sweet, soup recipe was given to me by my cookery teacher Montse Bradford.  It can be served warm or cold.

Soup helps to relax us and prepare the digestive system for the rest of the meal. 

The basic ingredients of any soup are: a sea vegetable; two or more land vegetables; and usually one fermented seasoning, such as miso or soya sauce.  

Sea vegetables have numerous health benefits and are added to increase the mineral content of a dish and to enhance flavour.

You can use regular sea salt to season if you wish but this does not contain the other beneficial nutrients found in fermented foods like miso.

This soup contains celery, which has traditionally been used for a variety of medicinal purposes and contains vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients with numerous positive effects on our health.  

Ingredients

1 strip kombu sea vegetable, simmered in 4 cups water for 15-30 min

2 medium onions, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pinch sea salt

1 bunch celery, washed and chopped into small pieces

285 g/10 oz sweetcorn kernels

1 dessert spoon white (shiro) miso, dissolved in 2 tbsp water

Method

1. Place the dried kombu sea vegetable in a pan with 4 cups of water and simmer gently whilst you are chopping the vegetables
2. Chop the onions and celery and saute in olive oil with a small pinch of sea salt until the vegetables are soft and translucent.  The salt helps to draw water out of the vegetables and prevents burning.
3. Remove the kombu from the water and add the water to the chopped sauteed vegetables until it just covers them.  If you need to add more water at this stage you can.  Simmer the vegetables for 15-20 min or until soft.
4. Blend until smooth using a hand blender or food processor.
5. Add the diluted miso a little at a time until and taste until you achieve the level of seasoning you require.  If you do not have miso, you can use sea salt to taste.
6. Simmer the soup for 2 minutes and serve garnished with fresh herbs.  You can also serve it cold.

Sauteing the vegetables in a little olive oil

Nutritional information

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Cooking with miso

Different types of miso
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Miso is a traditional Japanese food produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and a microbial culture called koji.

It contains living enzymes which aid digestion, beneficial bacteria essential for enhancing gut flora and digestive health, and provides a nutritious balance of natural carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and proteins. 

Miso also contains phytonutrients in the form of soy isoflavones, including genistein and daidzein, which are known to be protective against cancer.

The most typical miso is made with soy. The typical result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with soup stock to serve as miso soup.

In Japanese, the word miso literally means “source of taste”. Miso is typically salty, but its flavour and aroma depend on various factors in the ingredients and fermentation process. 

Different varieties of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savoury, and there is an extremely wide variety of miso available. The most common ones available in the UK are:

• Shiro or white miso – fermented for 2-8 weeks. High in carbohydrates and koji but lower in soybeans than the dark varieties

• Mugi or barley/soy miso – fermented from one summer up to 3 years

• Genmai or rice/soy miso – fermented from one summer up to 3 years

• Hatcho or soy miso – fermented from one summer up to 3 years

Some of the health benefits of miso:

• For stamina: miso contains carbohydrates which give us energy
• For proper body metabolism: miso is rich in minerals
• For proper digestion: miso contains living enzymes and beneficial bacteria for enhancing the health of the gut
• For beauty: miso nourishes the skin and blood, thus promoting cell renewal and the building of skin tissues
• For the heart: miso contains linoleic acid and lecithin, which are helpful in preventing heart disease

You can use miso to season dishes instead of stock cubes. It is salty, so care must be taken not to use too much, but unlike stock cubes it contains many other beneficial nutrients.

White miso is sweeter than the darker varieties, so is used in sweeter dishes and when using light-coloured ingredients. Mugi, genmai and hatcho miso are rich and dark and are used in nourishing casseroles.

For a typical recipe for a soup or a casserole to serve 4 people, mix approximately one dessertspoon of miso in a little water and add to the dish about 2 to 3 minutes before the end of the cooking process, and simmer gently over a low heat.

Adding the miso at the end helps to minimise damage to the enzymes and live bacteria it contains. 

Miso can also be used to season recipes such as croquettes, bean burgers and fish cakes. In this case, you do not dilute the miso in water, otherwise the grain becomes too soggy and will not bind together.

You must always taste your dish before serving and adjust the seasoning accordingly, because the amount of miso required depends very much on the quantity of food present and on personal taste.

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