Avocado Soup II

An elegant soup for an appetizer. Not for novice cooks.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

_ large ripe avocados (Hass variety preferred), peeled and mashed

_ Serrano chile, chopped with seeds

_ cups homemade chicken broth

_ cup fresh lime juice

_ teaspoon salt, or to taste

_ cup Mexican crema or sour cream

_ tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

 Dry sherry

In a blender or food processor, purée all the ingredients except the sherry until smooth. Refrigerate the soup (at least 3 hours) until shortly before serving. Divide the soup among 4 cold soup bowls. Pass a small pitcher of sherry at the table for each person to add about 1 teaspoon to the soup, if desired.

Avocado Soup I

Cold soups are perfect to serve on hot summer nights.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 avocado

2 green onions

1/4 cup of fresh mint

1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream

1 1/2 cups of chicken stock (or cold water in emergency)

2/3 firm English cucumber

A little fresh lemon or lime juice to taste (keeps soup from changing color, adds flavor, but optional).

Garnish with chopped cilantro, parsley, and or diced cucumber.

1) Cut avocado into halves, discard the pit, and scoop out the flesh.

2) Chop ingredients and place into blender or food processor (except for the garnish).

3) Measure 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream and 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (cold water in emergencies). Add the chicken stock and yogurt or sour cream to the blender.

4) Start by blending everything on a low speed. When mostly blended, increase to the next speed. Everything needs to get chopped up and then made smooth.

5) Transfer to container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Garnish and serve.

This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. Crisp flour tortillas or French bread go well with this soup.

Asparagus Soup (Cream of)

Ingredients

2 lbs asparagus

1-2 large cooking onion, chopped

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

5 cups chicken broth. (Homemade)

 Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme. (Use dried if not fresh available)

1/3 cup heavy cream. (Substitute milk if you prefer less fat)

1 Tbsp dry vermouth

A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste. (White freshly ground pepper preferable)

1 Cut tips from 12 asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick. Reserve for garnish. Cut stalks and all remaining asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.

2 Cook onion in butter in a 4 or 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add 5 cups broth, thyme, and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

3 While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling salted water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain.

4 Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth. If you want a very creamy texture, you can put the purée through a food mill or press it through a sieve. Transfer to a bowl and return to pan. Stir in cream or milk. Stir in vermouth and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with asparagus tips. 

Serves approx  4 to 6

NOTE: Vegetable broth can also be used.