Courgette, potato and sage soup

We have a glut of courgettes* in the garden from just two plants. In fact, they keep ending up the size of marrows before I get round to picking them. So I'm now experimenting with courgette and marrow recipes. This is a pleasant recipe for soup that uses up a lot of courgette (or marrow), presumably making it pretty good for you in terms of getting your five a day, but tastes almost entirely of garlic and potato, meaning it's also palatable for people who like neither courgettes nor marrows.

Courgette/marrow, potato and sage soup

750g courgette or marrow, peeled & diced (seeds removed if using a marrow or marrow-sized courgette)

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped/minced

1-2 tbsp olive oil

400g potato, peeled & diced
4 fresh sage leaves
750 ml boiling water (more for a more liquid soup - I like mine more towards the puree end of the spectrum)
1 vegetable or chicken stock cube
Salt & pepper
10 g chopped parsley (optional)

1. Peel the courgette or marrow. If using a marrow or a courgette the size of a marrow, then remove and discard the seeds, for normal-sized courgettes leave the seeds in. Dice the courgette/marrow, then set aside for later.

2. Peel and chop the onion and garlic (or just use frozen). In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil then cook the onion and garlic gently until tender. Stir occasionally.
3. While the onion and garlic are cooking, peel and chop the potatoes.
4. Add the courgette/marrow, potato and sage leaves to the pan and stir. Sweat over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the boiling water, stock cube, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
6. Put the lid on and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.
7. Cool slightly (by adding ice cubes if in a rush), fish out the sage leaves and discard these.
8. Liquidise the soup in as many batches as necessary.
9. Taste and add more salt or pepper or boiling water as necessary. You can also optionally add some chopped parsley.

Serve with courgette bread if your glut of courgettes is as huge as mine! Serve with the bread of your choice if you're not racking your brains over how to use up all those courgettes that suddenly grew.

* Courgettes are known as zucchinis in US English