Cold zucchini soup with fresh mint and Greek yogurt recipe

This summer zucchini soup, made fragrant with fresh garden mint and smoothed with creamy Greek yogurt, is tasty served at room temperature or chilled. It's a refreshing starter to any summer meal, especially on a hot day. And it's a great use for the bags of zucchini your neighbors will leave on your doorstep in the middle of the night when their gardens run wild.

Cold zucchini soup with fresh mint and Greek yogurt

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 8 medium zucchini, sliced thin
• 3 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (can substitute with 3/4 cup plain yogurt)
• juice of one lemon

Directions:

Heat a saucepan over a medium-high flame. Add the olive oil and green onions and saute 3-4 minutes, until the onions have softened. Do not let them brown; lower the heat if you have to.

Now add the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, and continue cooking for a few minutes, until the zucchini starts to soften. Add enough stock or water to just cover the zucchini - any more and the soup will be too thin. Cover the pot and cook about 7 minutes, until the vegetables are just cooked through. Remove the pot from the heat and cool to room temperature.

When the soup has cooled, add the chopped mint and the yogurt. Using a hand-held immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot. (You can also transfer the soup to a regular blender for this step.) When the soup is smooth, stir in the lemon juice, taste, and adjust the salt and pepper. Chill in the refrigerator at least two hours and up to several days.

Before serving, taste the soup again - once it's chilled you'll probably need to add more salt, and possibly more lemon juice.

Serve decorated with sprigs of mint. Serves 4-6 as a first course.