If you’ve spent anytime at the Market Square Farmers’ Market over the past few weekends, you’ve noticed an abundance of summer squash. This simple recipe for Mahasti’s Summer Zucchini & Poblano Soup is a great alternative to preparing zucchini the traditional summer way – standing over a hot grill.

Incorporating poblano peppers adds a slightly sweet and earthy flavorful without overwhelming your taste buds with lots of heat. In case you missed her cooking segment on WBIR last Saturday, we’ve shared Mahasti’s on our blog so grab some local homegrown squash on your next shopping trip and give this recipe a spin in the comfort of your kitchen.

Enjoy!

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

2 large garlic cloves

1 large poblano pepper, cored, seeded and sliced

5 medium zucchini, ends removed

4 cups water

1 bunch cilantro

2 tsp salt

Peel and dice onion and set aside. Peel garlic, roughly chop and set aside. Rinse pepper, cut down the middle, remove stem and seeds, and cut into 1inch strips and set aside. Remove the ends off all of the zucchini. Cut 4 of the zucchini into 1inch rounds and set aside. Shred the remaining zucchini and set aside separately.

Remove about 1/2 inch off the bottom of the cilantro stems. Place the cilantro in a large bowl of cold water, swish around, and then lift the cilantro out of the water. Repeat the wash process with fresh water until there is no dirt left in the bottom of your bowl when you remove the cilantro. Roughly chop the cilantro and set aside.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent. Add zucchini, pepper and water. Bring the soup to boil, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cilantro and salt and blend with an immersion blender until soup is smooth. If using an upright blender, wait for soup to come to room temperature before blending to avoid burning yourself.

After soup is blended add the shredded zucchini. If you used an immersion blender soup will be ready to serve immediately. If you cooled your soup in order to use an upright blender, the soup can be re-heated after you add the shredded zucchini.

Serve with Flour Head Bakery bread and enjoy.

Serves 8- 10

Mahasti’s most recent appearance on WBIR had her using a seasonal vegetable widely available at most Knoxville area farmers’ markets – turnips. For this recipe, Mahasti bought her turnips from Mountain Meadows Farm in Norris, TN. (Be sure to stop by their booth at the Market Square Farmers’ Market before it closes for the season on November 23.)

The popular root vegetable is a good source of calcium, vitamin C and potassium while being very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. By keeping the greens, you’ll retain the nutrition found in them such as vitamin A, vitamin K and beta carotene.

While popular in many fall soups and crock pots, Mahasti decided to create an enjoyable side dish that might accompany a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of soup on a cold day. The next time your family needs an excellent side dish, think TURNIPS!

4 cups turnip root, diced

4-6 cups turnip greens and stems, cut into ½ inch strips

¾ cup onion, diced

¼ cup oil

¼ cup honey

4 Tbl cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Turnips usually come in a bunch of 3 or 4 turnips with greens attached – one bunch should yield the above measurements.

Cut turnip greens from bulbs, keeping the stems. Cut the greens from the stems. Wash the stems, and roots under running cold water. Wash the greens by submerging them in a large bowl of water, removing to a colander and repeating as necessary until no sand or dirt remains in your bowl after lifting the greens out.

Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add diced turnip root and stems. Stir the vegetables, then pat them into a single layer and cover the skillet with a large lid. Turn the heat down to medium low and leave the turnips undisturbed and covered for 5 minutes. Remove the lid, stir and repeat the process above leaving the turnips covered for another 5 minutes.

Remove lid, add honey, vinegar, salt and black pepper. Increase heat to high – stirring only once or twice. Cook turnips for another 5 minutes. Add the greens, stirring to wilt the greens then leave turnips undisturbed until all of the moisture has evaporated and been absorbed into the vegetables.

Serve hot or at room temperature as a side dish.