Serves: 2
Approx cost: €0.90
Approx calories (per serving): ~340
Approx preparation time: 5 minutes
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #0B0B61;”]Happy Saturday everyone! I’ve been busy last night making something exceptionally rich and delicious, covered in caramel and chocolate – photos and the recipe coming later in the week but for now I thought I’d share this little gem with you. The optimistic title is no lie. The whole soup, from start to finish, takes only 5 minutes – or less. The only “pre-requisite” is that you have good stock on hand. Because the entire soup is just two ingredients, the stock used makes a massive difference to the final taste. Use a good chicken or beef stock if you want a good meaty flavour – alternatively use vegetable stock if you want to keep the whole thing vegetarian/vegan-friendly. When I talk of stock, of course – I mean preferably something you’ve made up yourself at home. If you don’t have home-made stock you can absolutely use a stock-cube and water. The result is still good, although obviously, no bouillon cube is ever going to beat the home-made stuff in taste stakes!
Depending on where you live in the world and time of year, avocadoes can vary in price a lot. I was lucky to be able to get a little sack of 3 or 4 for a bit under €2. If you look carefully they’ll often sell un-ripe ones which you need to ripen yourself at home at a price far below the cost of ready to eat ones. Considering it takes 2 or 3 days in a window-ledge to ripen them up it’s hardly a big deal for such good savings. I had misgivings about the soup at first – my wife introduced me to it – and I couldn’t believe that something so simple would be so good, but let me assure you – this stuff is darn good. Frothy and light, with the delicious, creamy taste of avocado – it would be just perfect with a dollop of crême fraiche on top and some chopped chives – maybe some parmesan chips too. Enjoy your day and I’ll see you all on Monday for the quiz results (Speaking of which, if you didn’t already, remember my competition for my One Year anniversary ends tomorrow at 10pm CEST!)
Ingredients
- 2 Full bowlfuls of good home-made stock, or 2 bowls of water and 1 stock cube
- 2 Avocados
- A little cream or milk (can be omitted to keep soup Vegan-friendly)
Instructions
- Put the stock in a large, deep pan and bring to the boil. If you using water and a stock cube then simply add the water and stock cube together into the pan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to ensure the stock cube is broken up. While the stock is heating up, peel and remove the pits from the avocados.
- Once boiling, remove the stock from the heat. Transfer the avocados into the stock and blend well using a hand blender (immersion blender). Even when the avocados have been blended in, continue to mix to froth up the soup a little. If desired, you can also add in a dash of cream or milk. Ensure you don’t return the pan to the heat once the avocados have been added.
- Season to taste with a bit of salt and pepper and blend up again quickly before pouring into two bowls. Serve with some crême fraiche and chopped chives on top if desired, and some nice bread and enjoy!
Marianna says
Omg I will so cook it! I eat avocados every day now, dont know why. It must be an avocado phase. I just cut them in pieces and eat with grilled chicken or ham, nothing else. But avocados can taste different, its not only about being ripe or not. I found out to my surprise that avocados from M&S are not nearly that tasty as avocados from Tesco.
Charles says
Yay, it's super easy, and and if you served it to people they would NEVER know it took just 5 minutes – you can use it as an "emergency" meal in case you're too tired to cook, or suddenly people come over. Just make sure the avocado is quite ripe or it will be difficult to blend and won't end up being smooth. Serve it with some bread and meat or cheese and it's a perfect little meal.
The big supermarket near me has a special "tropical fruit and vegetables" section selling all sorts of things I've never seen before (and some I have) – they have these tropical avocados there… they're huge – about the size of a melon. I really want to try one sometime!… See how different the flavour is!
Marianna says
U should definitely try them! Never seen avocados that big. Take a picture first at least! ))
fati's recipes says
Mmm! This soup looks great. I've never been a huge fan of advos but I always tell myself that I love them so that I never say no to them. Maybe after I try this easy soup I won't need to "lie" to myself anymore! 🙂
My gosh I can't wait til Monday! I want to know what question I got wrong!
Charles says
Ah, my apologies Fati – I was going to let you know my email which answer was wrong but I completely forgot, I'm so sorry. I won't bother now as the results will be published on Monday in any case so you'll be able to see then.
The soup is very nice – the flavour of avocados doesn't come across too strongly, just a lovely creaminess – really simple and tasty 🙂
Kelly says
Nothing makes me happier than delicious food made simple. Fresh ingredients speak for themselves. I also happen to love avocado (and eat it almost daily). These avocadoes look particularly gorgeous. I don't ripen mine in sunlight. I put them in a paper bag in store them in a dark place; I've found this works really well (provided you actually remember socking them away otherwise you’ll discover mouldy smelly avocado two months later!). Love the cover photo Charles.
Charles says
Thanks Kelly – there's nothing more annoying than discovering delicious fruit or veg which you've stuffed away somewhere to ripen, only to forget about and find a few weeks later. I found a squishy, hairy mess in an old backpack once which I can only assume from the pit was once a peach or nectarine. I'm always sure to put my avocados on my kitchen ledge or dining room table since otherwise I know for sure I'd forget all about them!
Sissi says
Charles, this soup looks extraordinary and so appealing to the huge avocado fan I am (I think I have avocados non-stop in my kitchen and when I don't, I start panicking as if it was salt or pepper!). I have made many things with avocado, but never tried it warm… I must absolutely try your soup (I have bought a whole free range chicken today, so the homemade stock will be made very soon).
I am impatient to see the thing covered in caramel and chocolate!
Charles says
Thanks Sissi – I wonder if the soup would be as good cold, or iced in some way? I've heard of iced avocado soup before which seems popular, though never tried it. In any case – it's definitely good warm so I hope you're able to give it a try. I'd definitely recommend some chopped chives on top – just to provide a bit of flavour variance.
I'm looking forward to writing the chocolate and caramel post. Not something for dieters alas – the whole tray had 9700 calories in it and I calculated the per bite calorie value – about 120!
Have a great weekend 🙂
kristy says
Yay! Another new soup recipe for me to try. This is one I think I'll even be able to get the kids to eat. They love avocados. I really like how simple this is too. I can whip this up on one of our busy school nights. I love how you arranged the spoons in those last two pics. :)I'm looking forward to the quiz results. Hope you're having a great weekend!
Charles says
Thanks Kristy. It's definitely perfect for busy school nights, I can imagine. Couple slices of bread and butter and Mr N and Miss A will be happy I'm sure – it's very filling and tasty to boot!
Have a great weekend too 🙂
Karen (Back Road Jou says
Hi Charles, The soup sounds so good and only five minutes. What could be better. I can't wait to try it …maybe with some toasted pepita seeds on top. The cheapest I can buy an avocado is 89cents in summer and now $1.29. And forget about finding one that you can use the same day, most are rock hard. Either that or they are squishy soft. Florida grows a large avocado like what you mentioned but they have a very bland taste.
Charles says
Hi Karen, thanks for stopping by! Geographic location can play a big part in ingredient prices, although 89 cents in summer doesn't sound too bad. I find I'm actually starting to prefer buying ones which you can ripen yourself because the "ready to eat" ones from the store can often be already brown and mushy if you happen across an unlucky batch 🙁
A_Boleyn says
Avocado soup, avocado ice cream … amazing uses of this versatile fruit. 🙂
Charles says
Nice – avocado ice-cream? Now you made me curious… I'll have to look it up! It's definitely versatile, and if you ever get too many of them then you can just smush them all over your face for a nourishing face-mask 😀
A_Boleyn says
I remember seeing ice cream as a suggestion for someone who had a lot of avocados and didn't know what to do with them as they're so perishable. I only use them in tex-mex foods (inside fajitas, on nacho platters, quesadillas and of course guacamole dip) and in sushi.
A fast google provided simple recipes for avocado ice cream.
hxxp://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/avocado-ice-cream-recipe/index.html
hxxp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/coconut-avocado-ice-cream/detail.aspx
Charles says
Nice – I'll definitely have to give these a try sometime soon I think. I bet it's deliciously creamy!
Kankana says
This is such a easy soup to make. And I love avocado .. can't wait to try this.
Charles says
Thanks Kankana – I never found an easier soup before (unless you count instant stuff from packets :p) – Credit should go to my wife though who introduced me to this 🙂
Cooking Gallery says
Wow, the avocados look gorgeous! Somehow the ones I've been buying here are always brownish at the centre… I've never tried avocado soup but I LOVE the idea! I usually make avocado milkshake, which actually looks just like this soup, but the sweet version ;).
Charles says
Hi Cooking Gallery – as I mentioned above, I'm starting to prefer hard avocados now which you need to ripen at home. I've had a lot of experiences of bad avocados before, and the "ready to eat" ones really aren't cheap to be honest. Avocado milkshake sounds really interesting – another thing I'll have to try I think 🙂
foodfashionandflow says
I love avocado! This looks so delicious and I cannot wait to try it! This looks like the perfect first course for a yummy mexican meal.
Charles says
Hi Foodfashionandflow, thanks for stopping by! 🙂 I think this could be awesome with a couple of pinches of cumin in too, or maybe some chopped mint! Hope you're able to give it a try 🙂 Have a good Sunday 🙂
Pure Complex says
I love avocados and I enjoy adding them in several dishes. Never before have I thought to make a soup with them. So your Five Minute Avocado Soup will be a welcome addition to my fav soups 🙂
Charles says
Thanks Kay – hope you get to try this. Do let me know if have a go! I think it's really great, and so simple, either on its own, letting the avocado flavour shine through, or with a little extra spice!
Linda says
Wow…unbelievable! two ingredients! And you are right, with only a few ingredients they truly must be quality. I love simplicity, gone are the days when I made elaborate dishes. I keep my pantry and frig with basics only, and avocado is one of them I do like. Of course, homemade stock is always on hand in the frig or freezer, so this will be so easy to make! I can't wait to see how it will taste!
Charles says
Hi Linda! I like to go all out from time to time, be really adventurous, but you know, I'm starting to really appreciate simple things so much more. A simple salad, a good piece of meat or fish, seared with just some chilli… so good and easy, and you really appreciate each individual flavour so much more!
Sadhana says
Avocado is an every day food in our house hold and this is such a nice idea to make this healthy food interesting. Creamy and yummy.
Charles says
They're really good aren't they Sadhana – high in calories, but full of really good vitamins and minerals and stuff and a flavour which is so good. When you get a good avocado… well, life is good! You don't even need much to enjoy it – bit of good olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice… fresh and simple!
Jen says
Looks wonderful! I like the idea of the avo icecream too!
Charles says
Thanks Jen. I'm intrigued by this ice-cream too… I think I'll give it a try. I guess it will look a bit like wasabi ice-cream (did you ever try that btw? That's a truly bizarre eating experience… it's like "ow, ow, hot hot hot, ow, no, cold cold cold" 😀 )
Eva kitcheninspirati says
What a lovely soup. I have made a similar version with cilantro oil but it is served cold. I bet your home made salsa dolloped on top would be beautiful and extremely tasty! Another great one Charles.
Charles says
Thanks Eva! I'd heard of cold avocado soup, thought I've never tried it, either hot or cold. I didn't try that many cold soups before. My spanish friend makes the world's best gazpacho (like, for real, I could live off that for the rest of my life!) and I've tried a vichyssoise before, but others… not so much. Will need to give it a try! 🙂
shuhan says
that's amazing, yes the power of good stock!! it's great how you used avocado to make it creamy!
Charles says
Thanks Shuhan – it's true. Using instant stock here will still give a perfectly "ok" soup, but if you really want to make it pop a bit a good soup stock is very important. Hope you're able to give it a try, I think you'll like it!
Nami | Just One Cook says
This looks delicious! I've never had avocado soup before. But you reminded me that I actually have immersion blender somewhere in the kitchen and I didn't know that's how you are supposed to use it! =P It was a gift or something… Now I'll have fun making soup with that new (well, kind of old) blender!
Charles says
Oops, I forgot to reply to your comment Nami – It seems that immersion blenders really aren't as common as I thought they were – I'd be SO lost without mine to be honest… they're so useful. I do hope you give the soup a try. I just made some amazing stock yesterday. I've been freezing the tops of leeks, broad bean pods, celery trimmings and broccoli stalks for a couple weeks. Pulled it out yesterday and cooked it in a pan for 4 or 5 hours with water. Of course, the leaves were all blackened from the freezer but the taste was still there and the stock was amazing. Made a chowder this evening, inspired by your post, using turkey. I wanted to roast the potatoes too, like you, but that went out the window when I got back from work ravenously hungry :p
Melissa Placzek says
This sounds awesome. I love avocado anything!
~M
Megan @ Country Clea says
Wow, this looks positively divine. There is nothing like a good avocado. I will certainly be making this as soon as I hit up the grocery! And the photos are beautiful as well. ~Megan
Charles says
Thanks so much Megan! If you've got a good stock and some chives/crême fraiche to sprinkle on top this is just one of the most amazing, simple soups I know. Incredibly easy… I do hope you can give it a try – let me know how it goes! Have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping by 🙂