It’s getting pretty cold here and there are nights I want to start dinner with a hot soup. Ideally something light and easy to digest. Zucchini squash and leek are some of these vegetables that are easy to find all year and pair deliciously ! Add up a few herbs, a small potato to smoothen thicken, an egg to make it creamier, extra virgin olive oil, and it’s a a dream of unsuspected flavors.

Ideally, it would be the only dish, but my kids are small and hungry, so I’ll have some grilled chicken and rice ready too.

Steamed vegetables

One advantage to gentle steam your vegetables: it keeps the nutrients, preserves the natural plant fibers, plant hormones, vitamins and trace minerals, among others. If you know me and gave checked my Youtube channel before, you know that this is the cooking method I consider the healthiest for a reason. But it also the most naturally colorful and the tastiest!

Is steamed food bland?

Steamed food have good and bad reputations. The good one is to be healthy. The bad one is being bland. If the taste kills the healthy advantage, this is no motivation for eating healthy. Some people may like to compensate with healthful pills. Personally I like to love my food and add pills on need basis.

However, Steaming is NOT bland. And the steaming I am talking about is gentle steaming, not pressure cooking, it is a quick and gentle way of steaming, no pressure, ( which would destroy nutrients and fibers) temperature under 205°F (95°C).

“Gentle steaming” foods preserves nutrients, which is huge. But another critical plus, is the preservation of taste and texture ! Let’s be honest, people who don’t particularly like vegetables do not because of their texture ( oftentimes mushy) or their taste ( unpleasant if not bitter). This is why there are so many sauces and condiments at the store ! We hope to be able to eat our veggies drenched in sauce… Unfortunately, we may get some good vegetables advantages in there but we also get all the side ingredients in processed sauces!

Steaming preserves tastes !

So the advantage of having vegetables that do have some taste and texture left, is that we don’t need to drench them in processed sauces! And we might also like them in the end. All we need is to learn a little know-how to season them at home with a bit of oil, salt, herbs and unprocessed condiments if needed, the magic happens right there!

Enhance tastes with herbs and unprocessed ingredients!

How do I enhance rather than replace tastes with unprocessed oils and ingredients? My #1 ingredient is extra virgin olive oil. Always the mediterranean !

This oil has a healthy reputation for millennia ! Mix it for the herbs and spices of your favorite cuisine. Honestly I haven’t met a spice or herb olive oil doesn’t pair with successfully.

Steaming A Meal is Simple

The secret of steam cooking is taking one ingredient at a time and test it with different one we know. Smell the herbs and spices and you may be surprised what your nose tells you about pairing them together.

With steamed vegetables, just turn on a pan or skillet on low heat, add a bit of water, oil, herbs or spices, let heat while vegetables steam ( which takes between 1 and 7 minutes depending on thickness), transfer vegetables to the skillet, add more olive oil, mix and let all ingredients combine their tastes together for 5-10 minutes without raising the fire heat. I usually will cook some cut pieces of fish or meat after the vegetables and add them to the skillet afteer that.

When I am not sure that what I am doing with vegetables work, that is what I start with and it is rarely bad. Improving your own dish will take a few tweaks but you’ll be happy to develop your own recipes according to your tastes.

Leek Zucchini Soup

The leek zucchini soup is surprising because it is so simple to make and so tasty. Leek is a vegetable that is under appreciated, especially its green end. I use the whole leek, and I would be all the happier if grocery stores wouldn’t cut the green end so short! Leek has a sweet mellow taste, it is at the same time mellower and tastier than an onion.

Pair with

Goes well with all Italian herbs like thyme, rosemary, basil … and spices. Paired with the smooth, slightly bitter zucchini , and olive oil, you land a creamy, bright green creamy texture only improved with egg (optional wink to the vegans here) and potato. This soup is gentle on your palate, and I often fed it as one of my baby’s first solid, without any issue.

It pairs beautifully with any grain (like rice or quinoa), with and a side of chicken. Add some pumpkin seeds to your soup, or croutons to get a crunch.

My recipe for a family

I use two leeks ( or a leek and two shallots) and 6-7 small zucchini squash for a family or 6. This soup is a first course, we eat it alongside a grain and some chicken or green salad. It’s a light yet tasty dinner ! Divide by two for a table of 3-4 people, or for severals meals for one.

Simple Equipment

Of course you need the Vitaliseur steam cooker of course ( link to the store and make sure to use the code “steamedcuisine” ( small caps, no quote mark) for 10% off, no European VAT. Europeans residents should contact me for a special code). But if you like the way I cook and my healthy cuisine mission, that is one tool you will use very frequently and buy once, MAY BE twice ( to have two running at once or one at different locations, or buy for friends!) in your life.

For soups, you will need a good immersion blender. It’s my favorite instrument for creamy soup and some sauces ! And works very fast.

Now let’s get on to this recipe ! Bon appétit!