Chilled Courgette and Buckler Leaf Sorrel Soup Salad, by Madalene Bonvini-Hamel
This recipe for Chilled Courgette and Buckler Leaf Sorrel Soup Salad from British Larder.com founder Madalene Bonvini-Hamel aims to make the most of July's seasonal ingredients. See more recipes in our http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2010/07/01/334141/Flavours-of-July.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Flavours of July article.
INGREDIENTS
(Serves six)
For the courgette and buckler leaf sorrel soup
• 1.5kg courgettes
• 200g ice cubes
• 500g chilled chicken stock, if frozen it's even better
• 1 banana shallot, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• Juice and zest of one lemon
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• ½tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 25g bucker leaf sorrel
• 40g fresh large leaf spinach
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Crème fraîche for garnish
• Mixture of edible flowers and herbs for garnish
For the courgette and garden herb pesto
• 200g courgette, coarsely grated
• 30g pine nuts
• 20g golden linseeds
• 30g Parmesan cheese, grated
• 30g spinach
• 30g extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small banana shallot, finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 40g mixed herbs - eg, sorrel, mint, lemon thyme, parsley, basil, oregano
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• Juice of one lemon
METHOD
Wash the courgettes and cut them into quarters. You will end up with roughly 1kg of the green firm part and 500g of the white soft seedy interior. Discard the seed part and keep the green part.
Peel and finely slice the shallot and crush the garlic. Chop the green parts in even-sized pieces, sauté the sliced shallots, crushed garlic and courgettes in a tablespoon of olive oil, cayenne pepper and seasoning until lightly coloured, which will take about two minutes at high heat.
Have the ice cubes ready in a bowl along with the cold or frozen chicken stock. Scatter the sautéed courgettes onto the ice cubes to cool them rapidly.
Add the grated nutmeg, washed spinach and buckler sorrel leaves and lemon juice.
Blend the soup until smooth, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed and chill the soup over ice.
For the courgette and garden herb pesto
Heat a non-stick frying pan and sauté the shallot, garlic and seasoning in 2tbs of the oil for about 4-5 minutes until golden. Add the courgettes and sauté for one minute. Let the mixture cool.
Toast the linseeds and pine nuts and add to the sautéed onion and courgette mixture. Leave to cool.
Place the herbs, spinach, lemon juice, Parmesan and remaining oil in a Thermomix bowl and pulse blend. Keep the pesto chunky.
Add the herb mixture to the cooled sautéed onion, courgette and nut mixture. Adjust the seasoning if needed and let the flavours develop for about 20 minutes.
To serve
Serve the chilled soup with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a few drops of crème fraîche and garnish with herbs and edible flowers.