Velvety Laughing Cow - Zucchini Soup

This soup is amazing. Light, velvety, creamy and soft with a little kick. You will love it. Zucchinis are the star of this soup, and it definitely changes from the usual way we cook them. If I was a child, I would eat this soup for sure (maybe remove the red pepper flakes and garlic to make it kid friendly).

My Mom had told me many times about a zucchini soup she made with Laughing Cow cheese. And it always sounded delicious. The first time I made it, I followed her recipe and cooked the zucchinis in water, then blended them with the Laughing Cow and some water. It was fantastic (and it seems like most people on the French web do it this way). Today, I wanted to bring it to another level and decided to saute to zucchini. It was exceptional. So for a figure friendly version of the soup, choose the first version!

I'm glad I can find La Vache Qui Rit easily in my American supermarket now. I used to eat it a lot as a child in France and I've always loved the cow on the box (I want the same earrings!). My mom would always pack it for my school trip picnics. 

In France, La Vache Qui Rit is very popular. They even sell it in mini cubes version, to be served for an aperitif. They're called apericubes. The flavors of apericubes range from blue cheese, to goat cheese and rosemary, olive, tomato or ham. I love them!

I hope you get to try this recipe, folks. Believe me, it's delicious.

Laughing Cow Zucchini Soup

(makes about 4 cups - for 2 or 4 )

1 clove of garlic (optional)

4 big zucchinis, peeled and sliced

1 tbsp of olive oil

a small pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup of water

1 tbsp of heavy cream

3 portions of Laughing Cow

Heat the olive oil in a pan. Peel and chop the garlic and saute quickly on low heat. Add the red pepper flakes. Make sure to not let the garlic brown, it would get too bitter (you could simply add the garlic and zucchini at the same time of you prefer). Quickly add the zucchinis and saute until lightly brown, about 5 minutes, on medium heat. Stir often. 

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil (or heat in the microwave). Transfer the sauteed zucchinis and garlic to the blender. Add the heavy cream to the pan on low heat to deglaze and stir with a wooden spoon to detach all the bits of garlic stuck to the pan. Let is reduce by half for about a minute. Transfer everything to the blender. 

Add the Laughing Cow and add half of the water. Blend. Add the rest of the water and blend more. Check the consistency. If it is too thick for you, add more water.

Serve and enjoy!

Eat Your Soup!

Coming from a rather low-income family who survived World War II, my mother was raised to watch her pennies and therefore cook on a budget. So it's not surprising that she has kept the habit of making vegetable soup during cold months -a peasant's meal back then. It's inexpensive, filling and very satisfying.

Even though my parents are living more comfortably than my grandparents, most of their dinners still start with a soup during the cold seasons. And that's how I grew up too. A simple dinner would be a bowl of soup, a boiled egg with "mouillettes" (thin and narrow pieces of buttered bread used to dip in the egg -"mouiller"/to wet), cheese and fruit.

Even though Juan has tried my Mom's soup many times while back home in France, from the seven years we have known each other, I have never prepared it for him. And that's pretty incredible, considering how much I cook. Go figure.

Poor Juan caught a cold last week, so I thought it was a great time to make him a comforting bowl of soup. I chose whatever looked good to me at the market, but the sky really is the limit! I do not get tired of eating it -and neither does Juan-. It's comforting, and undeniably good for you. It feels like a warm hug from the inside.

My mother's soup is a medley of vegetables from our garden. She always uses leeks, carrots and at least one potato but the rest is really depending on her moods. She always cooks her vegetables in her pressure cooker, then blends it.

One tip I can give to you for making this soup is to really check its consistency. I personally do not like my soup to be very thick -I don't find it very pleasant on my tongue-, so I make sure to blend the vegetables with very little liquid. That way, I can adjust the thickness by slowly adding ladles of the cooking liquid.

And here's how I eat it: with a very small piece of butter that I put directly in my bowl and a splash of milk (and I always check the seasoning). Try it, I can already hear you say: "hmmmm".

Vegetable Soup

(serves 6 to 8, or makes one big batch for 2 and serves over three meals).

1/2 green cabbage, sliced roughly.

2 medium carrots, peeled cut into 4 chunks.

1 big zucchini, cut into big chunks

1 medium white onion, peeled and cut into big chunks

1 big white potato, peeled and quartered.

Boil a big pot of water with some salt. Meanwhile cut all the vegetables.

When the water is boiling, immerse all the vegetables and cook for 40 minutes.

With a skimmer spoon or a ladle, scoop out the vegetables and put in the blender. Try not to put too much water to be able to adjust the thickness afterwards. Work in batches and be careful to not overfill your blender (only fill it half full). You are working with hot liquid (I hold the top of the blender with a towel in order to not burn myself)!

Pour each blended batch in a big saucepan. Stir the soup and add more cooking liquid if your soup looks too thick. Again, I personally do not like when it is too thick so I usually add about 3 ladles of liquid. Add slowly.

Add 1 tsp 1/2 of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, stir and serve hot!