Chilled Leek and Avocado Soup

This is simple, quick, and ideal for summer.

Do not add the avocado too soon -- not only will it discolor slightly, but its flavor will mellow and lose its vital freshness.

Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes, plus cooling and chilling

You Will Need
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups thinly sliced leeks
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 large ripe avocado
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and fresh-ground pepper

To Garnish
8 to 12 ice cubes (optional)
Lime slices
Sprigs fresh cilantro


What to Do
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the leeks are soft but not browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer until the leeks are tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Remove the soup from the heat and leave to cool slightly, then puree it in a blender or food processor. (Alternatively, the soup can be pureed in the saucepan with a hand-held blender.) Pour the soup into a bowl and leave it to cool. Cover and chill well.

3. Just before serving the soup, prepare the avocado. Halve the avocado and discard the seed. Scoop the flesh from the peel and press through a fine stainless-steel or nylon sieve. The avocado can also be pureed in a blender or food processor until smooth, adding a little of the chilled soup to thin the puree and make sure it is smooth.

4. Stir the avocado puree into the soup together with the yogurt, lime juice, and cilantro. Add seasoning to taste, then ladle the soup into 4 bowls. Float 2 or 3 ice cubes in each bowl (optional). Add slices of lime and cilantro sprigs. Serve at once.

Serves 4


Some More Ideas

• This soup is also good hot. Puree the hot soup with the avocado and stir in sour cream instead of yogurt.



• For a soup with a Mexican flavor, cook 1 or 2 seeded and finely chopped fresh green chiles with the leeks.



• For a simple no-cook avocado soup, blend 2 avocados with 2 cups vegetable stock, then add the yogurt and lime juice, and season to taste.



• To make vichyssoise, the classic chilled leek and potato soup, increase the stock to 1 quart (2 pints) and cook 2 peeled and sliced potatoes with the leeks. Omit the avocado, lime juice, and cilantro, and serve sprinkled with snipped fresh chives.

Nutritional analysis: 170 calories, 5 g protein, 14 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 7 g carbohydrate (5 g sugars), 3 g fiber


Plus Points

• Half an avocado provides one quarter of the recommended daily intake of vitaming B6 and useful amounts of vitamin E and potassium. Both vitamin B6 and vitamin E help the skin remain in good condition.



• Leeks provide useful amounts of folate, which is important for proper blood cell formation and development of the nervous system in an unborn baby.

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