Directions

1.  Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat.

2.  Cook the onion, garlic, carrots, and zucchini for 10-15 minutes. You don’t want to brown anything you just want to soften them up. Throw a little salt and pepper in there.

3.  Lower the heat and add chicken stock and simmer until veggies are soft (use a wooden spoon to “crush” the carrots against the side of the pot until there’s no resistance and that’s how you know it’s ready).

4.  Add the Parmesan and basil. You want to do this just before blending to retain that nice green hue of the basil.

5.  Blend to a fine puree or leave chunks of veggies (up to you). Using a hand blender is great here.

6.  Once blended to your specifications stir in some half and half (this step isn’t necessary, but really amps up the creaminess). Serve with some good crusty bread for dipping.