Silky Zucchini Soup Recipe & Wine Pairing
This recipe was so good and the wine I selected to pair was such a perfect pairing, I just had to share!
This time of year, I crave lite foods, veggies – in particular, lite soups with a fresh summer side salad. What’s even better? The delicious fresh, clean wines for pairing to them all!
Which is why I had my heart set on making this Food & Wine Magazine recipe I just pinned to my ‘Food Obssesed Somm‘ board this past week on Pinterest. Easy, affordable and delicious! (And perfect for anyone you’re inviting over for dinner that’s vegetarian.)
Silky Zucchini Soup
TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN ~ SERVINGS: 4
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2/3 cup vegetable stock or low-sodium broth
- Julienned raw zucchini, for garnish
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the stock and 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a simmer; cook until the zucchini is very soft, about 10 minutes.
- Working in 2 batches, puree the soup in a blender until it’s silky-smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Serve it either hot or chilled, garnished with julienned zucchini.
In addition to the soup, we pan seared a lightly seasoned panko crumbed filet of walleye to act as our main protein for the dinner, nestled amongst a fresh mix of salad greens topped with a nutty Spanish olive oil. Yum!
My wine pairing: Martinsancho Verdejo ~ Rueda, Spain 
Verdejo, if you’re not familiar, is a white grape variety grown in north central Spain.
Long grown in the Rueda area, it is a grape famously known for its bright, yet fleshy characteristics. Often times–notes of peach, pear and citrus–make the mouthfeel of this grape seductively complete.
The Martinsancho, is produced by Angel Rodríguez, whose 17th-century vineyard is responsible for the preservation of Rueda’s indigenous Verdejo grape. Cuttings from here were used in 1976 to establish a 25-acre vineyard planted in the Rueda region.
Martinsancho’s Verdejo is a delightful combination of lite citrus, fresh peach and lemon merangue all in one! The white florals aromas to the wine’s nose, give way to an absolute palate pleaser.
When paired to the silky zucchini soup, the white peach notes of the palate become exceptionally creamy, combining to make a tangelo, orange creamsicle surface in the wine – yum!! I can’t say enough of the perfectly textured sweet aromas and equally matched acidity points with this wine/food combo.