One of my favorite foods to shoot as a professional food photographer is soup. Playing with the textures and using special garnishes to make the presentation appetizing and beautiful is so much fun for me. This zucchini soup recipe is from my mom and needless to say, it was both successful on set and off.
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Food Photography Tips for Zucchini Soup
Warm The Soup For An Olive Oil Drizzle On Top
I love garnishing soup with a little drizzle of olive oil. If you want to get that oil to stand out beautifully, make sure the soup is warm to hot. If it’s cold, the olive oil may not pop as well off of the soup. To get the swirl, simply add olive oil drops to the soup and use a butter knife in an S shape to create the swirl around the bowl. It makes for a really beautiful presentation, don’t you think?
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READ MORE ABOUT: GETTING STARTED IN FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
Recipe Notes for Zucchini Soup
My mom is known for her amazing soups. She’s always experimenting and coming up with so many unique recipes. Whenever Mike and I go to visit her in Minnesota, she always has a new soup or two waiting for us to try.
Admittedly, I was skeptical when she said she had made a zucchini soup. It sounds healthy, but I wondered if it would be kind of bland or dull in flavor. Well, it was NOT bland at all. If you’re looking for a healthy soup that’s also loaded with flavor, you’re going to love this one.
A Secret Ingredient
There’s a little twist to this soup that gives the soup an unexpected kick that will keep you coming back for more. Fresh ginger! Isn’t it amazing how one simple ingredient can be so powerful in flavor? When my mom told me about this I was so impressed. The flavors are so much bigger than I thought they would be.
Use A Vitamix For Smooth Texture
The soup should be ultra smooth and creamy in texture, so in order to ensure that consistency, I used my Vitamix. I’ve been using it A LOT lately, especially for soups, and it never lets me down. Despite this soup tasting creamy, it’s 100% dairy free. One recommendation I have is, if you don’t have a good blender and the Vitamix is out of your price range, you can also use an immersion blender to get this consistency.
Add Garnish For Presentation
I decided to garnish the soup with olive oil and Vudoo Seasoning by the Spice Merchants. If the seasoning is unavailable, I’ve also used McCormik’s Oregano. Fresh ground pepper would work just fine too.
Happy Cooking!
Dairy-Free Zucchini Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
- 3 large zucchini, chopped
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- Optional: Olive oil for garnish
- Optional: Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Optional: Voodoo Seasoning by Spice Merchants
Instructions
- Sauté the olive oil, onion and garlic over medium heat for a couple of minutes.
- Add the pepper and the ginger and continue to stir.
- Add the zucchini and the chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer until zucchini is softened, 45 minutes or so.
- Using a Vitamix or immersion blender, puree the zucchini until the soup is creamy and smooth.
- Garnish with pepper, olive oil, cilantro or other seasonings of your choice.
This post contains affiliate links which means if you click or make a purchase through my site, I might make a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only promote products that I actually use and support.
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All images © Regan Baroni 2017.
Congratulations on the growth of your business and blog! Adding the travel portion is an intriguing treat to look forward to; I’m eager to view your continued adventures. We met at the DG Farmers’ Market shortly after your “leap of faith” to quit your job and go full time into your food photography; very inspiring!
Raina
Hi Raina!
Yes, I remember you! Thank you so much for commenting and for your continued support of my photography! I think it’s going to be an exciting year ahead… Hopefully, I’ll see you soon in DG! Happy New Year!
The new layout looks great Regan. Hope 2017 brings your even more success and joy with your blog.
Thank you so much, Andrea! I hope 2017 brings you much happiness and success too!
I really love your blog, it has interesting content, Have a great day!