Golden Roasted Zucchini Soup with Herb Oil and Pine Nuts (Paleo + Vegan)

This summer-meets-fall zucchini soup recipe was a sort of annoyingly delicious accident.

I wrote a recipe last night for a Zucchini Baba Ghanoush (which I still intend to make for you someday... and yes, it will taste exactly the same as this but in dip form). I was so excited about testing it today, and then I made a mistake I couldn't take back. I used a food processor rather than hand mashing the zucchini. Instant soup.

Not complaining though, because this soup is honestly really, really good. It might be a little strange to think of zucchini as a creamy soup, but I'm happy with it. It's nothing flashy or fancy, but it's a really satisfying kind of soup that would also make a great base for other flavor profiles, herbs, spices, toppings, etc. Plus, you could probably eat this chilled like gazpacho in the summer and it would be excellent.

Creamy Roasted Zucchini with Herb Oil and Pine Nuts

paleo, whole30-friendly, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan (with broth substitution) | serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 3 T pine nuts, toasted
• ~4 lbs zucchini (~10 medium zucchinis), cut lengthwise with the ends removed
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika 
• 1 box (32 oz) chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Turn on the broiler. Set the zucchini halves on a foil-lined pan (or two), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the cut side with salt and pepper. Broil for about 30 minutes until the skin gets dark and blistered. Let the zucchini cool a bit until it's safe to handle and then peel off the skin and discard it.
2. While the zucchini is cooking, process 1/4 cup olive oil with the parsley and a pinch of salt to make the herb oil. Set aside for later.
3. In a food processor or blender, puree the roasted zucchini meat, garlic, lemon juice, the rest of the olive oil, coriander, smoked paprika and broth. Unless you have some industrial food processor, you'll need to do this in multiple batches.
4. Pour the soup into a large stockpot as you go. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until you're ready to eat.
5. Add salt and pepper and adjust all the seasonings to taste.
6. Serve hot and garnish with the pine nuts and herb oil.

Notes

• If you bought raw pine nuts, just toast them in a dry skillet on low-medium heat until they get toasty. then set them aside.
• If you want to make the Zucchini Baba Ghanoush I intended to make and don't want to wait for me to write an official recipe, try holding the broth and mashing everything up with a fork instead. And maybe strain off some of the zucchini liquid before mashing to make sure it doesn't get too runny. That should work... maybe. :)
• If you hold the broth, this might also make a pretty tasty paleo and vegetarian gravy.

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