I bought deep yellow zucchini at Story Farms, in Catskill, New York, the other day. You can see in my photo that they have dark green tips near their stems. The things are gorgeous. Their yellow is thick, verging on orange. Of my Winsor & Newton watercolor tubes this would be their Cadmium Yellow.
Not only is this zucchini cultivar beautiful, it’s also a little sweeter than the green ones. Less green-leafy, more soil-earthy in taste. There are a bunch of varieties of yellow zucchini. The one I found at Story is called Golden Delight. Its color alone makes me grab some every summer. It’s a prompt. A call to action.
This time around, out came a soup. A cold soup. Topped with herbs, like everything I cook in the summer. Lately I love a simple herb oil garnish—just herbs, good olive oil, and a little salt, whizzed up to almost a purée. There’s nothing like it for herbal essence (remember that shampoo?). This time I used Genoa basil, set to bright green by quick blanching. I thought it looked wonderful against the yellow of the soup. You might instead go with spearmint if you prefer.
There’s no cream or butter in this soup, and that’s good when you serve it cold, letting the texture flow smooth and loose. The soup gets its depth of flavor from good olive oil, so use your best, both in the soup and in the herb oil. I chose Benza BuonOlio, made from 100% Ligurian Taggiasca olives. It’s rich and mellow with not much of a bite. Gustiamo.com carries it. It’s a new favorite of mine.
I hope everyone is doing some creative summer cooking. We’re deep into it now.
Golden Zucchini Soup with Saffron, Basil Oil, and Pine Nuts
Extra-virgin olive oil (4 tablespoons for the soup, plus ⅓ cup for the basil oil)
1 large summer onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
5 or 6 medium-size golden zucchini, chopped
1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon fennel pollen or ground fennel seed
½ teaspoon turmeric
Salt
A splash of dry vermouth
1 quart light chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
A big pinch of saffron, crushed and dissolved in about ¼ cup hot water
A big pinch of ground green peppercorn
About 15 basil leaves
A few drops of rice wine vinegar
A palmful of pine nuts, lightly toasted
Get out a soup pot, and set it over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and let it warm. Add the onion and carrot, and sauté until both are fragrant and starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and the potato, the fennel pollen or seed, and the turmeric, and season with a little salt. Sauté for another few minutes to open up all these flavors. Add the vermouth, and let it bubble away. Add the chicken or vegetable broth and enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, and then cook at a steady bubble, uncovered, until the potato and zucchini are tender when poked, about 20 minutes. Add the saffron water, the green peppercorn, and 2 more tablespoons of olive oil.
While the soup is cooking, make the basil oil. Set up a small saucepan, and fill it halfway with water. Bring it to a boil, and add some salt. Drop in the basil leaves, and blanch for about 30 seconds. Drain them, and run cold water over them to set their color. Squeeze out as much water as you can, and put the basil in a food processor. Add ⅓ cup of olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Pulse a few times. You want a slightly chunky purée. Pour it into a small bowl.
Purée the soup in a food processor, and then chill it. When the soup is cold, check its consistency, adding a little cold water if it needs loosening. And check its seasoning, too, adding a few drops of rice wine vinegar for brightness if needed.
Top each serving with a spiral drizzle of basil oil and a scattering of pine nuts.
And here’s a little video from another of my favorite farm stands, Montgomery Place Orchards, in Red Hook, New York.
Erica De Mane 
Yellow zucchini is abundant at our farmer’s market and my basil has finally perked up…poor things, the weather was so cool in June that basically all that happened after the seeds sprouted was that they just sat there! I’ll probably substitute toasted, slivered almonds for the pine nuts as really good ones are not only expensive but difficult to come by. And why I make sure to bring them back from Italy but my stash has run out. The colour of this soup is stunning. I’ve made a yellow zucchini soup for years and it’s really nice but I like the sound of yours a lot and am looking forward to making and tasting it. I’m also getting Romanesco zucchini, my favs. Turning them into all sorts of delicious stuff!
Hi Phyllis,
If you can get your hands on some of the ones with the green stem ends, that would be great. They’re so beautiful and give great color (although I added tumeric and carrot here, which also helped). One thing I’m not crazy about are most of the yellow summer squash I find at New York farmer’s markets, like the Crook Neck. They seem really bland to me. E
These are not crookneck…I’ll look for the ones with the green stem end. But I’ve no idea as to why? Right now I’ve got cherries from the market resting in ice water…seeing what the difference is other than just leaving them…hey why not? Have a great Saturday!
So beautiful and I’ll bet delicious. Nice article and video.