Welcome back to our series Market Fresh, in which we take a look at one ingredient that's showing up in the city's Greenmarkets right now and tell you what to do with it. Last week, we looked at basil, and today, we're cooking with botanical mystery zucchini.
Zucchini is one of the most abundant summer squashes cropping up in markets this time of year. Botanically speaking, zucchini is actually an immature fruit—it's the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower. Whoa. Zucchini can grow to huge sizes, but the smaller ones are often tastiest, whether quickly sauteed with garlic and sea salt, folded into an cheesy omelet, or even made sweet into muffins or breads. We spoke to Chef Chris Leahy of West Village French charmer Lyon to see what he does with the fruit.
"This zucchini soup is the perfect recipe to make throughout the summer," says Leahy. "I love the combination of the lemon thyme with the creaminess of the crème fraiche and crab—it practically melts into the silky zucchini puree. You can tweak this easy recipe by using different herbs depending on what you have on hand but this combination of flavors compliment each other very well."
Lyon's Chris Leahy's Zucchini and Crab Soup
Makes 6 servings
6 cups zucchini, washed and sliced thin
½ sweet onion, sliced thin
4 cups bouillion, or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1 tbsp lemon thyme
1 tbsp watercress
1 tbsp parsley
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon salt and white pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon chili flakes
Creme fraiche, for garnish
6 oz fresh peekytoe crab meat
In a sauce pan sweat the onion in one tablespoon olive oil. Add the zucchini and the broth bring to a gentle boil, then add the lemon thyme, watercress, parsley, and basil and simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes. Cool before transferring in batches to a processor or blender; puree until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Refrigerate several hours, and stir well before ladling into bowls. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and crab.
