I feel like Mary Poppins would be a really wonderful soup maker.
I’m not talking about the spoonful of sugar.
It’s that magical purse she carries around. If she can pull a coat rack and house plant out of her nanny bag, imagine the things she could coax from a giant soup pan. Dreams! I imagine the most lovely and effortlessly delicious soup, with a dash of cream like whaaat!?
Wait… can Mary Poppins make us all soup forever and always?
I wonder if Mary Poppins has wasabi peas and a baguette in her purse. Probably.
I made this soup on a day that I needed soup… and a day when I needed soup to be easy.
This zucchini soup went from coarsely chopped veggies, to a hot broth bath, to blender soup magic. It’s incredibly simple and majorly satisfying.
This soup can be as meaty or vegan as you’d like. It’s entirely flexible. Chicken stock versus vegetable stock. Butter versus olive oil. A sprinkling of parmesan cheese or a smattering of chopped toasted almonds. Tarragon is essential. It has a bright anise-like flavor that really compliments the base zucchini flavor.
Adding a bit of cream to finish is decadent, but the soup is dang delicious without it. I made the soup with and without cream and I happened to eat the entire bowl of cream-laced soup… just sayin’.
This soup recipe comes from the center of my stack of Spring reading inspiration. The new Daphne Oz book, Relish is disarmingly sweet and has some really lovely recipes that inspire sharing and caring. Also… I think reread East Of Eden because it tears my heart apart then puts it back together-ish. Lastly, kitten toe hair is a thing. I can’t deal (but I can).
Creamy Zucchini Tarragon Soup
recipe from Relish
serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sweet yellow onion, about 1 1/2 cups
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 medium zucchini, chopped, about 5 cups
2 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
white truffle oil for garnish, optional
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute more. Add zucchini and tarragon leaves and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked through and soft.
Transfer soup to a blender, place a towel over the blender and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender. Return the soup to the pot and stir in cream, if using. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of white truffle oil and a few tarragon leaves.
Paige C
Oh, I need to re-read East of Eden as well. It’s just so good.
And the soup looks wonderful!
bakerkat
Yummy I need to make this soup.
Katy @ Katy's Kitchen
That soup looks so creamy and I love that you can make it vegan! I used to be totally turned off by green soup when I was little. I have horrible memories of a pea soup…but now I can’t get enough green! I’ll be trying this one for sure.
Ellie
I love it when you go all vegan for a second :)
joythebaker
hahaha!
Tieghan
Yum I love zucchini and tarragon. This soup is like summer in in a bowl!
Shaheen [The Purple Foodie]
I need to buy a copy of Tender! I’ve been on a zucchini kick (if I can call it that) and have just been eating this white pizza with thinly sliced zucchini and thyme and oodles of olive oil (obsessed with it ever since I ate it in Rome) and this soup looks like just the thing for a bit of variation.
Quinn Cooper
Loves divine! Always nice to add a new soup to my repetoire.
Photos are lovely as always!
xo Quinn
Quinn Cooper Style
Jeff @ Cheeseburger
I like my soup meaty so I’m going with chicken and butter.
Shona
I am so old I remember going to see Mary Poppins movie as a child, sigh. Still remember most of the songs as well. The kat is cool as a cucumber lurking behind the books. I deeply love Nigel Slater’s books and food, the books are in my kitchen for inspiration and admiration, and cooking from. I make a zucchini soup in summer which has risotto rice, thyme, parsley and lots of lemon juice, it is splendid. As are you and your recipes and your integrity as a human bean.
Manali
Joy, I recently attempted your tomato zucchini soup and it was rad! You make zucchini taste awesome in all sorts of ways, I have to try this one tonight!
Jayne
Mary Poppins would have been able to make soup for the world twice or thrice around! Ah, I need soup.
Renee @ Awesome on $20
If Mary Poppins made this soup, of course it would have to be called courgette tarragon soup. And it might have to be made in a kitchen with a low ceiling. But it would still be lovely.
julie
i can’t handle (and can) the little ears above your stack of books. i feel they go well with kitten toe hairs. and… i’ve never tried a zucchini soup, but am very intrigued by the fresh tarragon in this soup. certainly enough to give this recipe a try!
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Love your stack of books!
And blender soup magic…yes, those are the best kinds of soups! And tarragon…not a frequently used herb for me but I really like it and thanks for the reminder to use it more!
Miss Kim @ behgopa
Omg I love Mary Poppins! That was one of my all time fav Disney movies growing up. I watched it on VHS over and over countless times. Thanks for bringing back memories of simpler times! I’d bet she would make the bestest soups. She’s Mary Poppins! She’d have all kinds of ingredients in that purse of hers..maybe she’d pull out some booze too (Mary Poppins for grown up version) to go with that soup!