Spring Zucchini and Celery Soup

Thick soups are one of my favorite things to eat. I often make them as a quick and delicious main course with croutons. Most of  thick soups are thickened with flour or cream but I make mine without them. I love them because that way they are healthier and put an accent on the flavor of the main ingredient (in this case zucchini). The first time I made this particular soup, I wondered what type of herb should I use. I had some fresh celery leaves and tried that. I absolutely loved the outcome so I`m presenting you the recipe.

Ingredients

1 zucchini (about 400 g)
1 small onion
1-2 celery leaves
water (to taste, depending on how thick you want your soup to be - I added 1 L)
salt, pepper

For the bread croutons
stale bread
olive oil

Preparation

Cover the bottom of your soup pan with a thin layer of olive oil, add chopped onions and cook them frequently stirring until translucent (5 minutes). Chop zucchini into smaller cubes and add it to the onions. Cook for additional 5 minutes. Add water, celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is soft. Leave your soup to cool down a bit and then make a puree with a hand blender. Bring soup to boil and add salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with bread croutons (cut bread into small cubes and bake them in a pan with olive oil on medium heat until golden and crispy).

 
Celery leaves give this soup a nice aroma but don`t overcome the fresh flavor of zucchinis. If you want, you can add 1 garlic clove with the onions to get richer flavor.

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Chicken and Vegetable Roast With Rosemary and Peperoncini Flavored Oil

So many things to do and so little time. That`s the summary of my life in the past couple of months. I have so many plans and good recipe ideas I want to try but I just can`t catch a break from work, college, family stuff etc. Everything is based on expecting the weekend but when it finnally comes, it flies by too fast. So I˙m bringing you one of my favorite recipes from my old blog. It˙s based on Jamie O˙s Chicken roast with potatoes and tomatoes. It`s ideal for the time of the year when there are tomatoes in season.

Ingredients

2 drumsticks
2 thighs
4 plum tomatoes
1 rosemary stick or 3-4 oregano sticks - you can absolutely use both and they should be fresh
1-2 peperoncini (be careful because they are pretty hot!!!)
olive oil
6 potatoes (medium size)
2 carrots
juice of half  a lemon
salt, pepper
water for boiling
1/2 cup water for roasting

Preparation

In a mortar beat rosemary (or oregano leaves) and peperoncini. Add 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice. Run it through a sieve into a small bowl.
Cut potatoes in quarters and carrots into 1 inch pieces. Bring water to boil, add salt and cook carrots and potatoes for 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and throw in your tomatoes for 1 minute. Take them out and peel off the skins.
Using a knife score the meat in one or two places. Season with salt and pepper and fry in a pan with olive oil just so that they get some nice color (5-10 minutes).
Cut tomatoes in half and add them together with carrots, potatoes and chicken in a roasting tray. Pour in 1/2 cup water. Season with more salt and pepper, add flavored oil and lightly mix with a wooden spoon.

Roast for 45 minutes on 180 Degrees C or until meat falls off the bone.

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Egg-free Strawberry Ice Cream

May is a strawberry month so you can expect a few recipes containing one of my favorite fruits in the near future. The first one is strawberry ice cream. Most of the recipes for ice creams require eggs but once, I heard that every other egg has salmonella. My recipe is egg-free so it`s completely safe for you to enjoy it.
When you`re buying strawberries, you should smell them. If they have a nice strawberry aroma, immediately buy them. But, if you can`t smell it, then they are probably "artificial" - avoid them!

4 Ingredient Ice Cream

200 ml whipping cream 
300 g sugar  (or to taste)
180 g low fat sour cream
300 g strawberries

Preparation

In a food processor combine strawberries and sugar until you get a smooth puree. Whip the whipping cream and using a spatula incorporate strawberry pure and sour cream into the cream. Freeze over night and then enjoy.

This ice cream is creamy and at the same time it tastes a bit like a sorbet because of the water that is in the strawberries.

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