Chicken & Avocado Soup

It has been a while since I've regularly made soup. Not sure why I slowed down, but I'll be getting back into the swing of things in the coming weeks. I'm looking to bring to the soup to different groups in addition to my place of work. So, if your office would be interested or if you know of someone else looking to do something out of the ordinary to break up the work week let me know, you can find me on Facebook or post a comment on this blog below.

This week's soup is Chicken & Avocado. I found it on Cooking.com which is a great site for all things cooking. Especially enticing about this recipe is the creamy texture you get without adding any cream and all the related calories and fat. It is also really easy to make with less than 15 minutes of cooking time, especially nice when it is 109 degrees or so like it is here is Southern Arizona this time of year.

I made four adjustments to the recipe. I added the juice of one lime (about 2 tbsp), 3/4 cup of loosely packed cilantro, and one teaspoon of white pepper. The tang of lime or lemon juice is something I add to many soups to add just the right finishing touch, cilantro has a great flavor that this recipe needed and pretty much asked for, and I use white pepper if I don't want to change the color but need to add some heat. The final adjustment was swapping in chicken thigh meat and not using breast meat, thigh meat is more tender, moist, and flavorful.

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons of cooking oil (canola is what I use most often)
1 clove of garlic (check out this great device for peeling garlic)
1 jalapeno chile, halved lengthwise, seeds and rib removed
2 ripe avocados, skin and pit removed (check out this tip from Real Simple about how to pit and scoop avocados)
4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice (best simple tool for juicing)
1 teaspoon of Frank's Red Hot Sauce from Durkee
3 1/2 cups of water
2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of white pepper
1 red onion chopped
3 cups of chicken broth
3/4 cup of coarsely chopped cilantro, loosely packed
2 pounds of boneless chicken thigh meat cut into approximately 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch chunks

METHOD

1. In a blender, combine the garlic, jalapeno, avocados, 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, 1 1/2 cups of the water, 1 of the teaspoons of salt, and the black pepper. Puree until smooth, stirring may be necessary.
2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat, when shimmering add the onion and cook until translucent, stirring frequently, should take about 7-8 minutes.
3. Add the broth and the remaining 2 cups of water and the remaining teaspoon of salt.
4. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
5. Stir in the chicken pieces and cook until just done, about 5 minutes, remove a piece to be sure it is no longer pink in the middle.
6. Add the avocado puree, the remaining 2 tablespoons of lime juice, the white pepper, and the cilantro, stir to fully mix and heat through, about 2 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Serves 4, per serving: 381 calories, 18g fat, carbs 23g, protein 35g.