Soup in summer!
You may think that soup is only for the Winter months, but when you have a glut of homegrown produce, soup is a great easy nourishing meal to make. In the UK, it is time for courgettes (zucchini), aubergines and beans to be harvested, with some tomatoes and peppers almost ready too! What a fantastic way to showcase all your hard work and combine them all into this tasty lunch or dinner dish. If you are yet to have space (or the inclination) to grow your own, likely is there is a neighbour or someone local who would be only too happy to offload some of their excess produce to you!
Seasonal Summer Soup recipe
This soup is customisable to the ingredients you have, with a few important base ingredients. You will definitely need tomato puree, black pepper, and salt with water and ideally Cajun spice and garlic granules too. We usually make this with courgettes and aubergines, but we have also added freshly harvested round green beans (yum yum)!
Soup made with courgettes & aubergines… and green beans if you have them.
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 2 pints boiling water
- 1 teaspoon salt (Pink Himalayan or Maldon sea)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1 teaspoon Cajun Spice (or sub paprika &/or chilli flakes)
- 2 large courgettes
- 2 medium aubergines
- 1 handful green beans
Put the tomato puree in a large saucepan and add the boiling water. Mix until combined, then add the salt, pepper and garlic. Add the Cajun too if using. Turn the heat a bit lower and allow to cook for 5 minutes whilst you prepare the vegetables.
Wash and take the ends off your vegetables. Cut them into small bitesize pieces (e.g. cut courgettes lengthways twice, then into then slices). Add the vegetables to the red soup mix. Turn the heat down low and cook for 45-60 minutes.
Do a taste test and adjust seasonings if required.
Enjoy!
What do I need?
Hopefully you have everything you need to chop some vegetables and cook them in a pan, but if you need something new, here are a few items useful for this recipe. I may receive a small commission if you click and purchase through these links (this is at no additional cost to you)!
Serving
Serve your seasonal summer soup with some quick and easy homemade garlic bread, or with any other bread, or a spoonful of grains added in!
Storing
Store your soup in a lidded container in the fridge for up to five days. This can also be frozen for up to three months – just remember to portion it out and label it well.
Sharing
Who are you inviting over to share your soup with you? Have you got a glut of courgettes that need using? (if you’re near, I can always find a use for some!) Are you going to make this with the same vegetables I have, or will you add some sweet peppers, a bit of fresh chilli and some celery? (I heard there’s celery needing using up too)! As always, I love hearing about any recipes of mine you try, any ideas you adapt or suggestions you have for future recipes. Please share and tag me @LifeDietHealth or using #LifeDietHealth on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter.
Leave me a comment below… I love to chat!
I hope to speak with you soon
Laurena x
ps: you will hopefully get an extra recipe this week as I change my regular blog day back to Thursday!
Hi Laurena, happy Autumnal August lol- it’s very strange, as I’ve become used to average temperatures of 35′ in the summer! I must admit, though- I do like this cooler rainy weather😋 Your soup sounds ideal. Will be interesting to have aubergine in a soup, I’ve not had that before. Updating my next shopping list☺️
Hello Eva, I think my allotment likes the rainy weather a lot from the amount of weeds it’s producing! You know I prefer the sun, but I’m grateful the temperatures here have been a bit cooler recently. OMGosh never had aubergine in a soup – wow, that does surprise me! It’s very good especially cut thinly as it soaks up all the flavours and gives the soup a great consistency. Let me know when you’ve made it (& send me a pic)!