2-Step Avocado Soup

"Hot enough for ya?" Before this week's scattered thunderstorms, Washington DC had reached a sweltering and sticky 99 degrees. Fortunately, that's when we hopped on a plane and headed far south, as in South America! We kissed the hot weather goodbye and landed south of the equator in Buenos Aires, where their winter was just beginning.

We have lots to tell you about the food there, but once we returned to flip-flop season in the States, we decided it probably wouldn't be an ideal time to share that recipe for comforting Argentine stew.

So, instead we're arming you with a soup to help you stay cool. With summer just beginning, the worst is still ahead of us. It won't be long before we'll be doing everything we can to beat the heat, including leaving the stove and oven OFF as much as possible. That's the glory of this decadent, yet relatively healthy recipe. There's absolutely no cooking required! Plus, depending on how thick you make it, it can double as a spread on your sandwiches or tacos!

Btw, we'd normally suggest topping it with a little summer tomato, but considering tomatoes are literally on our $%#@ list these days, we've got a few other garnishes that are perfect stand-ins.

2-Step Avocado Soup
serves 4

3 avocados
3 cups vegetable stock
2 Tbsp lime juice, or to taste
zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
pinch of green chili powder (or 1 Tbsp canned chopped green chilis)
salt to taste

Garnish with:
scallions, sliced on bias
cilantro, chopped
plain yogurt

1. Puree avocados, vegetable stock, lime juice, zest, chili powder, and salt until smooth.

2. Garnish and serve immediately*.

*Note: This soup may be made ahead up to two hours. To avoid discoloring just press plastic wrap directly onto the soup, making sure to fully cover the entire top layer.

Print this recipe!

Mango & Avocado Salad with Tilapia

We know you're probably here looking for a soup, but this time we've got a light, refreshing salad I threw together for dinner tonight. While I'm trying to train myself to only eat locally, I couldn't resist these new pear-shaped, yellow-skinned champagne mangos from Mexico. They're smaller and a lot less fibrous than typical green mangos, so I picked up 2 for a buck at WFM yesterday. The unexpected flavor combination with the tilapia, avocado, and cuke was the perfect end to a hot 90-degree day here in DC. So, kick back on your patio or balcony and treat yourself to a glass of pinot grigio and a gracious bowl of this guilt-free salad. And if you want to have soup too, this serves as a great accompaniment!

I learned a valuable lesson with mangoes that I will share--if you're allergic to poison ivy, then don't go near mango skins with a ten foot pole. I scraped the juicy mango from the skin with my teeth and soon developed a rash on my mouth! Be warned! But it's only the skin that causes the problem, so just have someone else do the peeling and you can still enjoy mangoes all you want!


Mango & Avocado Salad with Tilapia
Serves 2

1 champagne mango, peeled & chopped
1 avocado, peeled & chopped
1/3 cucumber, sliced longways
2 tilapia filets (or another mild white fish)
4 leaves of red leaf lettuce, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
squeeze of half a lime

1. Heat a pan over medium heat. Pour a touch or tablespoon of olive oil in to heat. Season the tilapia with salt and pepper on each side. When olive oil is hot, place the fish in the pan and let them cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.

2. Take the chopped red leaf lettuce and dress it with a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lime, and salt and pepper. Assemble the rest of the salad with mango, avocado, and cucumber. Give another squeeze of lime and toss. Serve in bowls and top with the tilapia, broken up or whole.

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!

****************
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