Spring zing

I'm so glad Easter Monday isn't a holiday here, as my favourite produce market was open again (I never seem to plan ahead well enough). So there I was, desperate for a taste of something fresh after a long winter of starch, processed food and wizened root vegetables, when I saw them. Baby zucchini. Tucked up in a row in their plastic tray like newborns. Tender little mites no longer than your fingers. So I carried them home and made them into soup.

I wanted to capture the essence of spring, when new buds unfurl on bare branches and the sun shines a little bit brighter. Something clean and fresh and lemony to celebrate the time of year. The end result is a light creamy broth from the addition of ricotta cheese, with a cheering hit of bright green.
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Spring soup

Any young, fresh spring greens will do: apart from the ones used here you could also try asparagus, sorrel, pea shoots and nettles. Even shredded lettuce is nice in the buttery mix.

Melt butter in a soup pot while cleaning and slicing some leeks into thin rounds.

Sweat leeks in the pot over medium heat with the lid on. You want them to soften but not brown.

Slice baby zucchini into small half-moons. Add to pot. Stir around and leave to soften for a couple of minutes, with lid on.

Zest a lemon into the pot. Squeeze one half into the soup, reserve the other half for later. Add chicken stock and replace the lid.

Wash and trim sugar snap peas, add to pot. With lid on, cook on medium heat for three minutes. Then add a handful of peas, either fresh or frozen. Cook for another two minutes. The point is to treat the vegetables gently – you want to have a bit of crunch left in the snow peas, and you want to retain as much of the green colour as you can.

Squeeze the second half of the lemon into the soup, crack some pepper into the mix, and taste for seasoning. Add some fresh tarragon if you like. I prefer not to add any fresh or dried herbs, as I want the soup to taste of the young green vegetables and the freshness of lemon.

After ladling into bowls, add a handful of baby spinach leaves and a generous spoonful of fresh curd cheese: either ricotta or good fluffy cream cheese (in the US I recommend the zesty Zingerman's cream cheese).

Serve with farm bread and European-style butter.