Lemony Tarragon Summer Squash Soup is a Community Pick!

Lemon Tarragon Summer Squash Soup

Please forgive my lack of new recipes during my “camping and fishing season” but I am happy to announce that another one of my recipes has made it as a Community Pick in a Food52 recipe contest. I am very proud of this soup, and I hope you have a chance to enjoy it this summer. The squash I am growing have just started to flower, but I already have a bunch of fresh tarragon and chives just waiting for my first crop of squash. This entry was for the Your Best Fresh Herbs contest.

Here is the link to the contest: Food52 Your Best Fresh Herbs

And below I have copied the recipe that was adapted for the contest so you can save it for when your crops come in. Or heck, just go buy some from the Farmer’s Market!

p.s. My recipe still needs testers, so please feel free to sign up and test the recipe. Anyone can become a tester, you just have to join the Food52 Community. Easy sign up. Plus they have awesome recipes to browse through.

p.s.s. My last recipe that was chosen didn’t make it as a finalist in that contest, but I’m just glad it made it in! Hundreds of recipes are submitted, so it’s just perseverance to continue to submit, and especially have the ingredients called for in the contest.

Squash, Tarragon and Green Onion

Lemon Tarragon Summer Squash Soup

1 large yellow squash
2 green onions (scallions), light and white parts, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely minced
Ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
1/2 cup milk or cream
Tarragon, snipped chives, shredded Parmesan cheese, croutons for garnish (optional)

1. In a soup pot, sauté the squash and onion in the butter and olive oil until onion is tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic in the last minute or so.
2. Season with black pepper to taste, add the tarragon, then pour in the chicken broth and lemon juice and stir.
3. Cover and bring to a simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until the squash is tender all the way through.
4. Remove from heat and add the milk or cream.
5. Puree about half the soup with whatever device you have, then return to pot.
6. Serve immediately, and garnish with optional additional tarragon, chives, shredded Parmesan cheese, and croutons.

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Tangy Squash with Onions and Tomatoes a la Threadgill’s

Tangy Squash with Onions and Tomatoes

This is a delightful side dish, with subtle flavors that don’t overpower the squash but give it a nice tang. Squash is the star of this show, and you don’t want to overwhelm its delicate flavor. I know it’s winter, but yellow squash is typically available year round, in varying degrees of size and freshness. Yesterday the store had some fairly nice looking ones, so picked them up on a whim during my half-hour quick-trip to the grocery that’s nearby my daughter’s piano lessons while she continues to perfect that craft. The original recipe for this comes from Threadgill’s, a restaurant that was my mainstay while in college in Austin (oh that and Trudy’s and Chuy’s.) I usually try to get in a dinner or lunch at any of those whenever I visit.  I have a copy of Threadgill’s cookbook from 1996 which was written by the proprietor at that time, and immediately went to it to replicate this side I  almost always order with my main course there. (Which is either chicken-fried steak or chicken-fried chicken livers. Oh yes.) I was tempted to add more Worcestershire and Tabasco than the recipe called for, but I pulled back and trusted the recipe. I quartered the original recipe as it said it made enough for eight large servings,  and with only three of us it came out the perfect amount, with a tad leftover. Would serve four easily as a side dish. We had both chicken and steak leftover in the fridge we needed to eat, and wanted something new for a vegetable in these winter months. I also whipped up some couscous, which is another nice quick side to pair this with. My adaptation to this recipe was to add a half a tomato, not only for color but a bit more flavor, and substitute a nice dry Chardonnay for the Chablis it called for.  And ground black pepper! Gotta have that spice in most everything. I did restrain myself this time and left out garlic.  I hope you enjoy this tangy take on an otherwise bland side dish!

Chopped Squash, Onion, and Tomato (Bad yellow lighting, I know!!!!)

Tangy Squash with Onions and Tomatoes a la Threadgill’s
Adapted from Threadgill’s, The Cookbook

1 pound yellow squash, chopped
1 tablespoon butter or substitute
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup white wine, you choose
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 small tomato, chopped
Ground black pepper, to taste
Parsley for garnish, optional

Note: The above recipe is the quartered version. Double, triple or quadruple as needed.

Start by chopping up the yellow squash into 1/4-inch or so slices, then cut the larger slices in half. In a large-ish skillet, heat the butter or substitute on medium and add the onion. Sauté for about 3 minutes, until it starts to soften. Add the wine, water, Worcestershire, and Tabasco sauce until mixed, then dump in the squash. Stir it around in the juice, then cover it up and simmer for a few minutes. Uncover and give it a good stir again, grind some black pepper over it, then stir again and cover. At this point keep an eye on it. You only need to cook it maybe a total of 1o minutes more, stirring occasionally, depending on your heat. You don’t want the squash to be too mushy, but not overly hard either. Just eyeball the doneness. Last, tell your family to get in the kitchen and dinner is served!

Lemon Tarragon Summer Squash Soup

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!

Marinated Grilled Zucchini and Squash

Zucchini and Squash Ready for Prepping

I simply love grilled zucchini and squash, and I wish I could say I used some from our garden, but I only have a small potted herb and lettuce garden. The good news is I used fresh tarragon and basil from it for this recipe. In the past I have typically marinated the veggies in Italian salad dressing, but this time I wanted to make my own marinade. Recent purchases of two types of vinegar helped add a nice tang to it. If you don’t have either of those vinegars, you could sub any type of wine or cider vinegar, I’m sure. Same for the herbs — oregano, rosemary, thyme…

We served this with grilled steaks and baked red potatoes. A nice summer fare!

Marinating the Veggies

Marinated Grilled Zucchini and Squash

1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, chopped fine
1 teaspoon fresh sweet basil, chopped fine
Black pepper to taste
Shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large glass or rubber flat dish, whisk all the ingredients except the vegetables and cheese until well blended. Slice the zucchini and squash lengthwise into even strips and place in the dish with the marinade, using a basting brush to coat well. Grind extra black pepper over all to taste. Cover and let marinate at room temperature for two to four hours. Heat the grill to high heat, and cook about 15 minutes, turning once halfway through.  I added shredded Parmesan cheese in the last few minutes of cooking. You can reserve the marinade to drizzle over the squash when serving, for extra flavor.

Grilled Zucchini and Squash