In the vegetable world, zucchini is a lot like Olivia Newton-John’s character “Sandy” from the 50′s era movie, Grease. On its own it can be a little boring, stable and nutritious, but give it some black spandex pants, and a perm, and Va-Va-Voom! What I’m saying, is that everything needs a little bit of care to be brought from boring to sublime.

Now don’t get me wrong, zucchini is fine. Cut into rounds, steamed, and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese is, eeh. Sliced into batons, sauteed with garlic, and a bit of red chili flake, now that’s getting better. But it’s still a bit insipid… How about grated? Now that’s what I’m talking about. Grating the vegetable brings a whole other texture to the mix– delicate, creamy, yet crunchy if you choose. It’s versatile: sauteed until crisp and browned, stirred into a batter to make fritters, eaten raw in a salad, or possibly even simmered in a delectable soup.

Though technically a summer squash, zucchini is readily available year round, and proves perfect for the fall, when the weather is still somewhat fluctuating. While it’s not cold enough for a stick-to-your-ribs wintery stew, a chilly Autumn evening requires a bit more depth than your run-of-the-mill salad. Zuke Soup to the rescue!

Simply grate the zucchini en masse; about 5 medium-sized will do. Saute a few sliced leeks, add the zucchini, with a healthy dose of salt and pepper, and about one quart of stock, either vegetable or chicken, and simmer away. In about 20-30 minutes the zucchini has softened adequately, and is delightfully limp. Remove half of the soup, and puree in a blender. Add the puree back to the pot, with a bit of heavy cream if desired, and there you have it, a wonderfully light soup. You could even add a potato to make the soup heartier, if you chose.

So give zuke a chance. With a little bit of spandex, almost everything is made better.