This was just one of those recipes that I had been wanting to make for the longest of times. I had seen a recipe of chilled avocado soup with grilled shrimp on top on a TV show once and have been wanting to try that ever since. Don’t ask me which TV show..it was a while ago! 🙂
And then if you eat avocados you will know how tricky it is to get a perfect avocado for a recipe! You can never time it exact as to when the raw avocados you purchased are going to ripen. And sometimes they disappoint you too! You wait and wait and wait and then one day you finally lose patience and cut it open to discover that it had been bad all along! So much for the wait! It would be nice if supermarkets would allow us to return bad avocados. Seriously, since these babies are pretty expensive too! Well, as of now, we have no choice I guess except pray for that perfectly ripe avocado to be ready in your pantry just when you need it!
Well luck was on my side certainly last week since not only did I get avocados for 99c each (that’s the lowest I have seen in years!) but they also ripened perfectly in two days in time so I could make this recipe! Since I had planned this recipe in my mind for so long, I quickly went about making this and this soup came together in less than 20 mins!(if you exclude the time it takes to thaw frozen shrimp to room temperature). Plus, wow it was absolutely delicious! And such a satisfying meal too. I made this for lunch for myself and was thinking that I might need a salad to go with it but nope, this large bowl of soup was one heck of a meal. Nourishing and satiating!
The best part about this soup is there is no cooking involved (for the soup portion at least). All you need are the ingredients and a blender.! I decided to add coconut milk too along with fresh ginger and mint and cilantro. I did not add any water since cucumber is like 95% water. The consistency was just perfect and the ginger and the fresh herbs made it wonderfully refreshing. This would actually be a perfect soup for summer. But I enjoyed it in the middle of winter too fantasizing about spring coming early this year. Did you hear about that? 🙂
- 1 ripe avocado, peeled and pit removed
- 1 english cucumber (about 6 inches long), peeled and chopped
- ¼ cup thick coconut milk
- ¼ inch by ¼th inch of fresh ginger, peeled
- 1 green serrano chilli (optional, omit for AIP) stem removed
- 2 fresh mint leaves
- handful of fresh cilantro leaves (about ¼ th cup)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 4-6 large shrimp thawed and peeled
- a generous pinch turmeric
- pinch kashmiri chilli powder (omit for AIP)
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp coconut oil for pan frying
- fresh cilantro and mint for garnish
- Place all the ingredients listed under 'for the soup' in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. (Run a spoon through the blended mixture to make sure no vegetable pieces are remaining. If there are chunks of veggies, then blend again for a couple mins until smooth). Transfer to a large soup bowl.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients listed under 'For the shrimp' and mix well to coat all the shrimp with the spice mixture.
- Heat a skillet for 2-3 mins until hot and then add the coconut oil. When hot, place the shrimp on the skillet and cook for about 2 mins on one side till crispy and then flip and cook for 1 more min on the other side. Transfer to a plate.
- To serve the soup, place the cooked shrimp on top of the soup. Garnish with fresh cilantro and mint.
I tried to send a picture of cookie-cup-size avocado that has been mashed and lumps gone that you put in a freezer. It lasts a long time, it says. After they freeze they are placed in a bag for future needs. She said they don’t get brown either. ; }
That’s a neat trick! thank you for sharing Carol!
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