Chilled Avocado and Yogurt Soup Recipe
This recipe comes Janet Fletcher’s new yogurt-centric cookbook aptly named Yogurt (Ten Speed Press), which contains recipes inspired by the culinary traditions of Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, India, and beyond.
Photo by Eva Kolenko
Chilled Avocado & Yogurt Soup with Tomato Salsa
Serves 6
All the flavors of guacamole meet up in this creamy soup, with yogurt adding body and refreshment. Serve with pita crisps or tortilla chips. For lunch, add a salad of frisée, jicama, and oranges. For dinner, serve in small portions and follow with grilled ribs, grilled salmon, or just about anything grilled.
2 large ripe but firm avocados
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 ½ cups plain yogurt
2 heaping tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced
½ serrano or jalapeño chile, seeds removed for less heat if desired, or more to taste
½ teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seeds
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
Kosher or sea salt
Salsa
1 large plum (Roma) tomato, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ¼-inch dice
¼ cup finely minced white onion
2 heaping tablespoons chopped cilantro
½ serrano or jalapeño chile, seeds removed for less heat if desired, finely minced
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Halve and pit the avocados. Set aside half an avocado for the salsa. Put the remaining avocado flesh in a blender with the buttermilk, yogurt, cilantro, garlic, chile, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Taste and add more chile if desired, and then blend again. Transfer to a bowl and stir in enough cold water to thin the soup to a pleasing consistency, about ½ cup. Stir in the lime juice, or more to taste, and season with salt. Chill thoroughly.
Just before serving, prepare the salsa: In a bowl, stir together the tomato, onion, cilantro, chile, and garlic. Cut the reserved avocado half into ¼-inch dice and fold it in gently, and then season to taste with salt and lime juice and stir again gently to avoid mashing the avocado.
If the soup has thickened in the refrigerator, whisk in ice water to thin it to the desired consistency. Taste for seasoning. Divide among 6 bowls. Top each serving with a spoonful of salsa and serve.
Toasting and grinding cumin seeds: Ground cumin is much more fragrant if you make it from whole seeds that you toast and grind only as needed. Put the seeds in a small dry skillet and cook over moderate heat‚ swirling the pan often‚ until the cumin darkens and becomes fragrant‚ 2 to 3 minutes. Let cool‚ and then grind into a fine powder in a mortar or spice grinder.
Love cold soups? Try these recipes:
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