Best Green Summer Soup Recipes

SUMMER MINESTRONE WITH FRESH BASIL

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Continue to cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 more minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about a minute, and stir in the tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 quarts water, the turnip, zucchini, and the bouquet garni, and bring to a simmer. Add 2 teaspoons salt, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the canned beans. Taste and adjust salt. Remove the bouquet garni.
• While the soup is simmering, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the green beans. Boil 5 minutes, until just tender but still bright green. Transfer to a bowl of ice water, allow to cool, and drain. Retain the cooking water in case you want to thin out the soup later.
• Add the pasta to the soup and simmer another 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked al dente. Stir the cooked green beans into the soup. Grind in some pepper and taste and adjust seasonings. It should be savory and rich-tasting.
• Stir in the basil or pistou, or place a spoonful of pistou in each bowl and stir in. Serve in wide soup bowls, with a sprinkling of Parmesan over the top.

HEARTY VEGETABLE SOUP

Steps:

• In a stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat; saute carrots, onions, celery and green pepper until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute. Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. , Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove bay leaf.

GREEN SUMMER SOUP

Steps:

• Combine peas, stock and mint in a blender or food processor. You can adjust the proportion of peas to stock depending on your taste for viscosity. Heat in a pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve in bowls. (This is important; soup should not be served on a plate!) Makes 4 cups

COLD SUMMER SOUP

Steps:

• Combine the cucumbers, green onions, melon, chile, celery, vinegar, herbs, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt in a large bowl (the cucumbers will give off a lot of juice). Put the bowl in a large pot of ice water to chill for 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine the yogurt, a 2-count of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, the parsley, and refrigerate. To serve, spoon the soup into bowls.