zucchini soup with chives and country ham butter

A rainy Sunday is the perfect time to make a cozy and simple soup. This past week, I noticed that I had a few zucchini in my fridge and was craving soup. I turned on my record player and put on my pajamas and got to it. Less than 25 minutes later, I had hot soup ready for an early lunch! I used Olinda olive oil combined with my country ham compound butter to cook the zucchini an onion before adding vegetable stock and a Parmigiano-Reggiano rind. Check out this zucchini soup with chives and country ham butter. I am going to be adding this to my dinner party menus!

1 tablespoon unsalted butter or country ham compound butter (recipe below)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, I use Olinda olive oil

1 small onion or 1/2 a large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, chopped

1-2 cups vegetable stock or low-sodium broth

1 Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, optional

3-4 tablespoons chives, thinly sliced

Heat the oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste. Do not add a ton of salt because you will be adding vegetable stock and the optional Parmigiano-Reggiano rind! Let the vegetables soften, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook until they become super soft, practically melting away about 5 minutes. Add the stock and Parmigano-Reggiano rind and simmer until the soup thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Taste and season as much as you'd like. Add some of the chives if you like, reserving some for garnish. Remove the cheese rind. Puree the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.

Recipe: Country ham compound butter

A few biscuit slices of country ham

3 scallions or a bunch of chives

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon whole grain Dijon mustard

Zest of one lemon

Instructions

Pulse the ham and scallions in a food processor until combined. Add the pepper, butter, whole grain mustard and lemon and blend until smooth. Scoop the butter onto a length of waxed paper and shape into a log. Refrigerate until firm. Freeze for extra long lasting butter!