Spicy Garlic Avocado Soup

I picked up a Cooking Light magazine a few days ago and, as I usually do, had about 8 recipes I wanted to try out after browsing it for about 10 minutes. This one caught my eye right away, I mean, garlic, avocado and seafood. Duh! I will try it as listed, but I didn’t have all the ingredients, specifically the shrimp. Improv time.

Spicy Garlic Avocado Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1-2 serrano peppers, halved
3 tbsp garlic, crushed (about 10-12 cloves)
1 cp white wine
6 cps chicken stock
1-1/2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3/4 cp heavy cream
Sea salt
1/8 tsp saffron strands, crushed
1 avocado

In a medium stockpot, heat up the oil and add the onions and peppers. Cook until the onions begin to turn translucent, then add the garlic and stir it in very well.

Add the wine and allow it to cook down until it has almost evaporated, then add the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and lower the temperature enough to keep it simmering, this part will take about 30-40 minutes. The liquid will reduce by about 1 or 2 cps.  Once it reduces a bit, turn off the heat and strain it reserving the broth.

Rinse the same pot and you will make a roux. Add the butter, once it has melted whisk in the flour and continue to cook it over medium heat. It should remain light in color, do not allow it to brown. Cook it for about 3-4 minutes before slowly adding about 1 cp of the reserved broth. Make sure you’re whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Once you’ve incorporated the some liquid into the roux you can add the rest of the broth, cream, saffron, and check the seasoning. Allow it to simmer for about 3-5 minutes, allow it to thicken a bit.

Peel and seed the avocado and chop it into cubes. Pour a bit of soup into a bowl and top it avocado cubes.

Note: The original recipe included the use of shrimp and fish and stock made from the shrimp shells. I really liked this with the chicken stock, and I pan seared  pieces of fish fillet and added them just before serving.

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris