Meatless Monday: Summer soup.

I love this soup. It came to me in a roundabout way. I read about it on a friend's blog, looked it up on Google, found the recipe in the MIT online paper, and fell fast in love. To me, this is the perfect summer soup. Lots of yummy veggies, citrus, served cold. It packs a big flavor punch. I can eat it by the gallon, but it's a little strong for Allen to have as more than a side dish. In my version, I omit the sugar, use OJ from a carton and omit the mushrooms (I refuse to eat raw mushrooms). I also tend to use cherry or grape tomatoes sliced in half and omit the cilantro. Hmm... I guess my version uses this as a guideline, huh? :-) At any rate, it's delicious. We have it as a starting course when we have sandwiches. Pure deliciousness.

Chilled Avocado Citrus Soup from Nadsa de Monteiro’s The Elephant Walk

4 Servings

1 small onion, chopped

1 tbsp salt

1 quart orange juice, freshly squeezed

1 cup lime juice, freshly squeezed

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic, chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2/3 cup button mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 cups plum tomatoes, diced without pulp

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Cover the chopped onion with 1 tbsp salt for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse the salt completely off the onion, then drain and squeeze off excess water.

Mix remaining salt, black pepper, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, and sugar. Add olive oil and mix well. Add the diced avocados, mushrooms, tomatoes, and onion. Stir gently to mix. Let chill one hour before serving.

Directly before serving, add 1 tbsp cilantro to soup and stir to mix.

Original recipe posted here:
http://tech.mit.edu/V129/N26/elephant/recipe.html