I can't believe it has been over two years since I last wrote a blog post! It doesn't feel that long ago...but in the mean time life has changed a huge amount for us and we now have a baby boy, Little H, who is 4 months old.
In the past two years there has been the meteoric rise of food bloggers, lots of incredibly inspiration people, mainly women, writing and creating the most amazing plant based food. It is so exciting to see. I have even managed to get my husband to eat at Nama in London-the most incredible, raw food restaurant in Notting Hill, and The Mae Deli.
It has been really hot here recently and so this Chilled soup has been hitting the spot. It is loosely based on a recipe from Deborah Madison which I have adapted to make my own. On a side note, I once read that if at least three ingredients in a recipe are changed the recipe is yours-does anyone know anything about this?
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the soup, photographing my food and "food styling" is something I am going to work on in 2017.
Chilled Avocado Soup-This is a really rich, smooth soup so I find that half a cup portions are enough. This serves 6 people.
1 Small onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick rings
5 ripe avocados (about 300 grms), halved and seeded
2 cups home made vegetable stock or water
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (mint is also yummy)
2 teaspoons chopped oregano
1/2 Teaspoon of Chipotle chile paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
grated zest and juice of 2 limes
Sea salt
1/2 cup Coconut cream (coconut milk would also work)
Pepitas:
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds, raw
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of chile powder (I use Chilimanjaro powder)
Sea Salt
Sear the onion rings in a dry frying pan until softened and browned in places, about 5 minutes. I add 2 tablespoons of water half way through. You want to remove the harshness of the onion, but it doesn't need to be well cooked.
Using a spoon, scoop the avocado flesh into a blender. Add the onion, stock, parsley, oregano, spices and the chipotle chile paste. Puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in the lime zest and juice. Add some salt to taste, then stir in the coconut cream. Cover and chill well.
To prepare the peptise, heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and stir until they begin to colour and start to pop, a couple of minutes. Add the lime juice, chile powder and a good pinch of salt and give everything a stir. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir until the lime juice has evaporated. Leave to cool.
Taste the soup for salt and acidity-you might want to add more lime juice, serve in small bowls with the pumpkin seeds scattered over.
In the past two years there has been the meteoric rise of food bloggers, lots of incredibly inspiration people, mainly women, writing and creating the most amazing plant based food. It is so exciting to see. I have even managed to get my husband to eat at Nama in London-the most incredible, raw food restaurant in Notting Hill, and The Mae Deli.
Life on the farm continues and we have just come to the end of our short season harvest of Hass Avocados, so of course todays recipe has to be avocado based!
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of the soup, photographing my food and "food styling" is something I am going to work on in 2017.
Chilled Avocado Soup-This is a really rich, smooth soup so I find that half a cup portions are enough. This serves 6 people.
1 Small onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick rings
5 ripe avocados (about 300 grms), halved and seeded
2 cups home made vegetable stock or water
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (mint is also yummy)
2 teaspoons chopped oregano
1/2 Teaspoon of Chipotle chile paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
grated zest and juice of 2 limes
Sea salt
1/2 cup Coconut cream (coconut milk would also work)
Pepitas:
1 teaspoon oil
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds, raw
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of chile powder (I use Chilimanjaro powder)
Sea Salt
Sear the onion rings in a dry frying pan until softened and browned in places, about 5 minutes. I add 2 tablespoons of water half way through. You want to remove the harshness of the onion, but it doesn't need to be well cooked.
Using a spoon, scoop the avocado flesh into a blender. Add the onion, stock, parsley, oregano, spices and the chipotle chile paste. Puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in the lime zest and juice. Add some salt to taste, then stir in the coconut cream. Cover and chill well.
To prepare the peptise, heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and stir until they begin to colour and start to pop, a couple of minutes. Add the lime juice, chile powder and a good pinch of salt and give everything a stir. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir until the lime juice has evaporated. Leave to cool.
Taste the soup for salt and acidity-you might want to add more lime juice, serve in small bowls with the pumpkin seeds scattered over.
