Chilled courgette and basil soup with tomato vinaigrette

Lifestyle Recipes Everyday Chilled courgette and basil soup with tomato vinaigrette A vibrant dish that delivers a burst of fresh flavour on balmy summer days Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Diana Henry Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 08 July 2026 1:06pm BST Save Comment speech bubble icon Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source A chilled soup starring courgettes, basil and zesty lemon Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry Diana Henry Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 08 July 2026 1:06pm BST If you don’t want to make the vinaigrette then serve this with a really good extra-virgin olive oil on top. It’s also good with ricotta and Parmesan shavings. Requires chilling time Overview Prep time 15 mins Cook time 30 mins Serves 6 - 8 Ingredients 75ml extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 850g courgettes, sliced 2 small garlic cloves, grated to a purée 30g basil, leaves only (reserve some as a garnish) Juice of ½-1 lemon, to taste For the tomato vinaigrette 300g well-flavoured tomatoes ½ garlic clove, very finely chopped 2 tbsp good extra-virgin olive oil 1 tsp white-wine vinegar 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar Method Step Heat 75ml extra-virgin olive oil in a pan and sauté 1 finely chopped onion gently (adding a little salt) without colouring it. Step Add 850g sliced courgettes and turn them in the oil. Season.  Step Cook on a medium heat for about 4 minutes, then add a splash of water and 2 grated garlic cloves. Turn down the heat to low and cook for about 12-15 minutes, turning the courgettes every so often, until soft. Step Add 750ml water and simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to cool completely. Step Purée the soup in a blender with the leaves from 30g basil.  Step Add the juice of ½-1 lemon and some seasoning, then taste and decide whether to add more lemon or seasoning. Cover and chill. Step For the vinaigrette, quarter 300g well-flavoured tomatoes (skin them first if you like – drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain and peel). Step Scoop out the seeds into a sieve, then press the juice through into a bowl (discard the seeds). Keep 2 tbsp of the juice. Step Dice the tomato flesh and add to the reserved tomato juice with ½ very finely chopped garlic clove, 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp white-wine vinegar and 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar. Season to taste. Step Serve the soup cold, with spoonfuls of the vinaigrette and any reserved basil leaves on top. Join the conversation Show comments The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Related Topics Soup recipes, Vegetarian recipes, Lunch recipes, Tomato recipes, Healthy recipes, Courgette recipes License this content You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more here. Log In Subscribe Advertisement More Stories