Zucchini Soup with cilantro, chile, fresh mint & sea salted corn crisps

SERVES 6

An adaptation of Deborah Madison’s recipe from her cook book “Local Flavors”
This soup pairs well with Narrow Gate Vineyards Chardonnay, Melange de Sol Blanc & Viognier Roussanne

1 poblano or 1/4 Anaheim Chile (more or less depending on heat)
1 lb fresh zucchini cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bunch cilantro w/stems, roughly chopped
1 large fresh white or red onion, cut in half & thinly sliced
5 oz. peeled, chopped, cooked potato such as Yukon gold, white or red
1 1/2 T olive oil
2 T heavy whipping cream (optional)
½ cup Vegetable or Canola Oil for frying tortilla strips
2 T chopped fresh mint for garnish
3 corn tortillas
Sea salt
5 C unsalted vegetable or chicken stock
1 T fresh lime juice (or bottled)
Extra virgin olive oil for garnish

Roast chile*, peel and remove the seeds & chop coarsely. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over med-high
heat and sauté onion, zucchini, peppers, and ½ of the cilantro. Sauté until onion is limp and zucchini is soft
about 10 min., then add remaining cilantro, cooked potatoes, stock and one torn-up corn tortilla. Cool to
room temp. & puree in food processor or blender until smooth, add cream and blend in. Season with salt
and lime juice to taste.

Cut remaining tortillas into ¼” x 1 ½” strips. Heat the vegetable or canola oil in a skillet. Toss a small piece
of tortilla in the oil and if it sizzles then it’s hot enough to add the tortilla strips and cook until a golden
color & crisp**. Remove tortilla crisps from oil with tongs and drain on paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle
with fine sea salt. Serve soup garnished with 1 T crisp tortillas & a pinch of fresh mint. Drizzle with
extra virgin olive oil.

IMPORTANT: use non-reactive metal to store soup as it contains lime juice. Do not use aluminum pans.

* The heat intensity of many chiles varies. The heat is Anaheim chiles is unpredictable. The ones I
purchased for this dish turned out to be hotter than Jalapenos! So, depending on what you like and
the wine you want to serve be sure to taste the roasted chiles before adding them. I substantially
reduced the amount of chiles the original recipe called for (2 whole Anaheims) and added the
2 T cream to balance the flavors on the palate so that the Chardonnay & Viognier Roussanne we
paired it with would marry perfectly well with the soup.

**Make extra tortilla strips to munch on, the event staff at Narrow Gate loved them!

Narrow Gate Vineyards & Winery - 4282 Pleasant Valley Road - Placerville, CA - 95667 - 530.644.6201