CREAM OF AVOCADO SOUP WITH CHIVES

SOURCE: ANDRÉ SOLTNER AND SEYMOUR BRITCHKY. THE LUTÈCE COOKBOOK .

While avocados are not really a classical ingredient in French cuisine, André Soltner had them puréed as cold cream soups over at Lutèce whenever hot and humid summers struck The Big Apple. Perfecting the taste and color of the avocado in the soup to Lutèce levels entails a double precision on stock base temperature and refrigeration time. A well-chilled white stock fortifies avocados from releasing their bitter aftertaste and shortens the duration of cooling the soup needs before serving, thereby keeping the fresh earthy butteriness and winsome green lushness, which both wilt out at the slight exposure to heat or prolonged oxidation.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon/15 grams unsalted butter

1 slice white bread, preferably homemade, cut into 1/4-inch/0.64-cm cubes

2 ripe avocados, preferably Haas avocados

2 cups/500 mL well-chilled white chicken stock, preferably homemade

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon/1 mL hot sauce OR Tabasco sauce

1/2 cup/120 mL heavy cream

1 teaspoon/1 gram finely chopped chives

Specific Equipment

Nonstick skillet OR sauté pan

Knife

Spoon

Small bowl

Food processor or blender

Fine-mesh sieve

Large bowl

Plastic wrap

Ladle

Serves 4

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet or sauté pan set over medium heat. Sauté in the bread cubes for 3 to 4 minutes or until they have turned golden brown. Set the croutons aside.

2. Slice each avocado in half lengthwise with a knife and remove the pit. Scoop out the flesh of one avocado half with a spoon and cut into 1/4-inch/0.63-cm cubes. Set aside in a small bowl.

3. Scoop the flesh from the remaining avocado halves and place in a food processor or blender. Pour in the white chicken stock and season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce OR Tabasco sauce to taste. Purée for 1 to 2 minutes or until the mixture is well-blended and smooth. Pour in the cream and blitz the mixture with several pulses for 1 to 2 minutes or until well-blended.

4. Pass the soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl and add the avocado cubes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the soup for at most 1 hour.

5. Ladle the soup in individual bowls and sprinkle the top with the sautéed croutons and chopped chives for garnish.