Summer Courgette Soup

(serves 2 | 40 minutes | easy)

I tend to eat raw tomatoes for most of the summer, especially when I don’t have a lot of time. This soup is a great alternative to a cold salad, it is healthy, easy to make and SO delicious. Honestly. After making it I said to myself “if I ever open a restaurant, this is going on the menu”.

4 round courgettes – 1 onion – 1/2 a cube stock – 3 leaves fresh mint – 100g sheep’s milk ricotta – a handful of cherry tomatoes – 1 garlic clove – salt and pepper – olive oil – teaspoon of sugar

  1. Dice the onion finely and place it in a deep pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Turn the heat onto low and let the onion soften. Fill a small saucepan with water, add half the stock cube and bring to boil. 
  2. In the meantime, cut the courgettes into large chunks and place them in the pan. Turn the heat onto medium high and stir well. 
  3. After 10 minutes of sautéing the courgettes, pour in a label of broth and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes, or until courgettes are soft. 
  4. Add the mint leaves to the pan and blend everything until you achieve a smooth, homogeneous cream. If it is too thick, add some more broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 
  5. In a separate pan, crush the garlic and sauté with a tablespoon of olive oil. Slice the tomatoes in half and throw them in the pan when the olive oil is hot. Let them cook on high heat for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the sugar over them and leave it there to sit, lowering the heat. After a few minutes, mix the tomatoes and add a label of water. Once the water has evaporated, the tomatoes will have caramelised and you can turn off the heat. 
  6. Place the ricotta in a blender and blend until smooth (takes 1 min). 
  7. Place the soup in a bowl, add half of the tomatoes and a nice spoonful of ricotta, and top it all with a lug of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt flakes/fleur de sel.