courgette and mint soup

It's safe to go over to the mill at the moment because Top Modèl is here holding things - which is nice (he's not called Top Modèl for nothing). He's helping BB on the roof for two weeks and this morning he turned up with eight other friends to move the final truss (weighing 500 kg) onto the road to within reach of the crane.

When the heavy lifting was over, I descended from my lookout post in the bedroom and stood at the kitchen window, fishwife-style, serving pastis to the workers, listening to them bicker about the price of cheese and trying to offload their courgettes on one another. I've come up with a use for my football-sized ones - soup tureens. Whilst I was hollowing one out the other day, the previous mayor arrived to return some of BB's tools (funnily enough, BB was out) and spotting the gargantuan courgettes on the windowsill, asked why I had picked them so early! As I removed the spongy insides - the texture of a damp pillow and probably just as tasty - I made a mental note to be washing my hair if he ever invites us for dinner.

Courgette and mint soup

Ingredients
Serves 6
2 oz/50 g butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 lbs/900 g courgettes, chopped into chunks
24 fl oz/700 ml home made chicken stock
2 handfuls mint leaves plus extra for garnishing
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the onions on a low heat until soft - about 10 minutes. Add the courgettes and cook for a further 5 minutes.

2. Add the chicken stock, 1 handful of mint leaves and salt and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes. Leave to cool.

3. Blend in a food processor with the remaining handful of mint leaves.

4. Serve chilled, garnished with the extra mint finely chopped.

♫ Cook along to: AC/DC Rock 'N' Roll Train