Lemon Tarragon Summer Squash Soup

A co-worker brought a bunch of zucchini and yellow squash to work from her garden, but when I got to the booty there was only one 10-pound (no lie!) zucchini left, and one nice-sized yellow squash. I opted to take the yellow squash, as I had visions of a table full of zucchini loaves if I had taken the monster home. The weather has started turning chillier in this neck of the woods, and with just one lonely squash it really wasn’t enough to make a full side dish. So soup it was! I still had tarragon left in my herb garden, and some green onions in the fridge. I also had a half of a small yellow onion so used that too. The only thing I didn’t have was…garlic! GASP. How on earth can I not have garlic in this household? So I had to settle for the Mrs. Dash substitute and a little garlic powder. The lack of this item will NOT happen again any time soon, I can tell you. Lastly, I wanted to give it a little zing, so squeezed in a half of a lemon. That made a delicious difference. I pureed only half in the blender because I wanted to have some chunks of squash to give it a little more substance. This was a great end-of-summer lunch.

Lemon Tarragon Summer Squash Soup

1 large yellow squash
2 green onions, white and light green parts, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Blend
Black pepper to taste
3 cups chicken broth, homemade preferred
Juice of 1/2 large lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 cup milk or cream
Tarragon, shredded Parmesan cheese, chives, croutons for garnish

Squash, Tarragon and Green Onion

In a soup pot, sauté the squash and onion in the olive oil and butter until onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the seasonings and stir, then pour in the chicken broth and lemon juice. Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the squash is tender all the way through. Remove from heat and add the milk or cream. Puree about half the soup in a blender, then return to pot. Keep warm until ready to serve. I added some tarragon, Parmesan cheese and chives. The cheese really made a difference. After I took the photos and was slurping my soup while writing this, I flashed on the fact we had some garlic croutons in the house. I threw several in the last of my soup. Now THAT was a good idea! The taste of this is very light, lemony, and summery. Enjoy!