Dried Cucumber And Courgette Soup

2 oz of unsalted good quality butter.
Two large handfuls of dried cucumber and courgette slices.
l large mild onion.
1 ½ to 2 ½ pts of reduced home made chicken stock*
l fresh courgette.
Salt and pepper.

Optional Ingredients:

Single cream

2 large shredded spinach leaves ( if you want a darker colour but it does change the flavour a bit)

Method:

Place the dried cucumber and courgette slices in a bowl and add just enough cold chicken stock to cover.  Leave for around 30 minutes or until soft.

Melt the butter in a big thick bottomed pan.

Add the chopped onion and sweat gently until soft.

Then add the fresh sliced courgette and stir until coated with butter.

Next, add the dried cucumber and courgette plus the soaking liquid then pour chicken stock to generously cover.

Bring gently to a fast simmer but don’t boil it and if using the optional shredded spinach leaves, add them now.

Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for around 15-20 minutes.  Using a minimum amount of cooking time will preserve the flavours.  Once all the vegetables have become soft, remove from the heat and allow to cool until just warm.

Process in a liquidizer in batches, adding extra chicken stock to thin as required.  If using the optional cream now is the time to stir it in.

*Chicken Stock:

Usually, I do this by poaching a whole organic free range chicken, use the chicken and some of the stock thickened with cream to make delicious chicken and leek or chicken and mushroom pies and then use the left over stock for soup.  The strength and flavouring of the stock is the key to success, so whether you use the whole chicken or just the carcass, only use free range organic chicken, put lots of flavouring in – two big handfuls of mixed fresh herbs, four bayleaves, teaspoon of black peppercorns, a chopped up leek and two quartered onions, and a teaspoon of sea salt – and reduce it by half after you have strained it.  


P.S.  You can produce an equally stunning soup by using a mixture of fresh and dried mushrooms – handful of each - instead of the cucumber, courgette and spinach.