Chilled Avocado Soup

Total Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 2 large ripe hass avocadoes
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk (or regular milk)
• 1/2 lime, juice of (or lemon)
• 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onion, sliced thinly, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish
• 1 elephant garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/2 green jalapeno pepper, finely minced (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt, to taste
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 4 corn tortillas
• paprika
• scallion, sliced thinly
• fresh cilantro, minced
• fresh mint, minced
• 1 roma tomato, diced small (firm but ripe)

Recipe

• 1 peel and pit the avocados. to avoid browning, place the avocados in a mixing bowl and immediately mash them with 1/2 cup of the buttermilk and the lemon juice until avocados are smooth.
• 2 add the remaining ingredients to the bowl except the garnishes and mix well. at this point, you can *puree the soup or not, your choice.
• 3 cover the soup well and chill at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.
• 4 before serving, cut the tortillas into 1/2" x 2" strips and lightly toast in a hot cast iron skillet until they are crisp. stir frequently to avoid burning.
• 5 taste and adjust the seasonings in the soup. *if the soup is too thick for your liking, thin using a little bit of vegetable broth until you have the desired consistency.
• 6 for each helping, serve soup garnished with the tortilla strips, dash of paprika, sliced scallions, cilantro, mint and diced tomatoes.