Chilled Zucchini Buttermilk Soup

Cool, tangy, fresh and perfect on a hot day, this soup is all that plus it's pretty low calorie and low fat too!

I first had this soup a long time ago at my great Aunt's in Washington DC, back before I really knew what hot and humid weather felt like.  In Seattle, we just don't get weather like that and I was hating it.  Then my semi-sweet old aunt Mabel served this cold soup, I loved it.  My Mom and I were impressed that it had so few ingredients.  That happened about 30 years ago, so needless to say, I didn't remember the recipe!  I googled it and came up with some ideas, and here is what I created.  The next time I do this I plan on making it thicker, so I would include 4-6 medium size zucchini and not the three that I had on hand.  I'd like this soup to be a little thicker, but if you like a thinner soup, go with the three... got it? You could also use a bit less stock too.

The seasoning is pretty simple for this... salt and pepper, but you may need more of those than you think to bring out the flavors of the veggies.  If you don't care for the flavor at first, add a bit more salt and re-taste, I was surprised how much difference the proper amount of salt made to the taste. I also think this soup would be great with some fresh dill in it, but alas, I am fresh out of fresh dill.

One more thing, yellow Summer Squash would be awesome in this recipe too, and the soup would be a pretty yellow color instead of green.  I am sure by the end of the summer, you gardener's out there will be needing another recipe for zucchini to use up your bounty of fresh veggies.  I didn't plant any this year, and I sure wish I had!

Serves about 4-6 (easy to halve recipe too!)
Ingredients:
3-6 medium zucchini, diced
4 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup diced onion
Green Onions for garnish
Salt and Fresh Pepper

Heat up the broth in a large saucepan. Dice the zucchini and the onion and add to the simmering broth. 

Cook until it softens about 5-6 minutes.  Don't overcook the zucchini, it should still have some dark green color. 

Add the broth to a blender and blend until smooth.  Cool the broth and vegetable mixture, adding the buttermilk when cool.  Refridgerate until cold, and serve with some sliced green onions on top. 

NOTE- I used my immersion blender and had a hard time "catching" the bigger pieces of zucchini, from now on, I'll just use the blender and save time.
Weather still too HOT for you?  Here are some other great chilled soups:
Chilled Curried Mango Prawn Soup
Gazpacho