My favorite soup to make is French Onion Soup, a la Julia (of course).
But this is May, this is spring! Something springlike may be a better soup for today!
Yesterday, I came across this recipe for Zuppa di Zucca (Pureed Zucchini Soup with Fresh Thyme).
Heat a saucepan. Add 3/4 cup clarified butter and allow it to get hot. Add 1 and 1/2 pounds zucchini (medium diced), 1/4 t red pepper flakes, and 2 T fresh thyme, chopped. Saute the zucchini until it starts to brown. Turn off the heat, stir in 1 T chopped garlic, and let stand for about 10 minutes.
Warm 3 cups chicken stock. Put some of the zucchini mixture in a blender with enough of the stock to make the blender spin easily. Pulse initially to allow some of the liquid to incorporate, then puree until the mixture has a smooth consistency. Pour the contents of the blender into a new saucepan, and repeat until the entire mixture is smmothly blended and fully incorporated.
Reheat the soup over a low flame, stirring occasionally. Season carefully with salt, tasting before and after seasoning. Ladle the spoon into serving bowls, garnishing with grated Parmegiano-Reggiano, Romano, or Asiago cheese and a spring of the fresh thyme.
Serves six.
From Creating Chefs, by Carol W. Maybach, recipe by Chef Fritz Pasquet.
(Dang, now I'm getting hungry!)