Make This Soup: Spinach with Shrimp and Avocado

For weeks we've been "trying" to get up early enough to go to the Dupont Circle Farmers' Market. Friends have enticed us with promises of amazing pastry; the kind you have to fight for by 9:30 am. Peeling my eyes open at 10, however, means a breakfast of flaky goodness is again left to the imagination.

There's always next Sunday...

In the meantime, we did the next best thing: visited the market virtually. We didn't score $1 squash, fresh flowers, or juicy apples, but Adrienne stumbled across their guest chef recipe archive. We narrowed in on the Egyptian Spinach Soup by Nora Pouillon, owner of Restaurant Nora and Asia Nora in Northwest DC. Our soup is made the same way only I've added a few twists! We're talking spiced shrimp, avocado, cilantro and lime.

Healthy sneak attack: You still get that sinful texture without the addition of heavy cream! And you won't miss it! This time it's the plain yogurt folded in at the end that gives it richness and a tangy zing.

Best of all, you won't need to get up early to make it!

Spinach Soup with Shrimp and Avocado
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp curry powder
4 cups chicken stock
3 scallions, finely chopped
1/3 cup basmati rice
salt and pepper
3/4 lb baby spinach, julienned
2 cups plain yogurt
juice of 1 lime
1 avocado, diced
1/4 lb spiced shrimp (recipe follows)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot and sauté the onion until soft.

2. Add the garlic, turmeric and curry powder and cook for one minute to release the fragrance of the spices.

3. Add the stock, scallions, rice, salt and pepper.

4. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes until the rice is cooked. Do not overcook!

5. Add the spinach to the pot and cook for another five minutes.

6. Stir in yogurt and reheat gently so the yogurt doesn't curdle. (Do not boil!)

7. Stir in chopped cilantro and top with sauteed shrimp and avocado. Add a squeeze of lime and serve!

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Spiced Shrimp

1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
juice of 1/2 lime plus zest
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of black mustard seeds
pinch of paprika
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced

1. Mix shrimp with spices, garlic, and lime. If you have time, let it sit for about 1 hour in refrigerator.

2. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in saute pan and saute shrimp until pink.

3. Set aside until soup is ready to serve.

Recipe enhanced from Nora Pouillon's