Courgette and bean soup with marjoram, garlic and hazelnuts

Courgette and bean soup with marjoram, garlic and hazelnuts

Summer

As the summer progresses, the courgettes get a little larger, and it’s at this stage that they’re perfect for making this soup. It’s a shamelessly garlicky, rustic thing made with extra-virgin olive oil and lots of fresh marjoram, a herb I’ve become particularly fond of. I love adding white beans for their starch and body, and milky hazelnuts for their sweetness and texture; they go so well with the other flavours in the bowl.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for trickling
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 4 courgettes, sliced into 1cm (½in) rounds
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and a good squeeze of juice
  • 2–3 marjoram sprigs, leaves picked and chopped (reserve any flowers to garnish)
  • 1 × 400g (14oz) tin of butter, haricot, or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 small handful of blanched hazelnuts, roughly bashed
  • 750ml (26fl oz) vegetable stock
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Place a large pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. When it’s hot, add the garlic and sizzle for a few seconds, but don’t let it get too dark or it can become bitter. Add the courgettes, lemon zest and chopped marjoram, season with plenty of salt, then stir well.

Cook the courgettes, stirring from time to time, for 15–20 minutes, until they are beginning to soften. Then, add the beans, hazelnuts and vegetable stock and bring the soup up to the simmer. Continue to cook for 25–30 minutes, stirring every so often, to help the courgettes break down a little.

At this point I like to use a potato masher to crush some of the beans and courgettes up a bit. This gives the soup a really beautiful texture.

Continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup in warm bowls trickled with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkled with a little black pepper, and garnished with the marjoram flowers, if available. Serve some nice, buttered wholemeal bread on the side.

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