Blogging Ottinger (tim)

I wrote about my first batch earlier. I gave it another shot while grading Java tests today. I made a few modifications.

5 Jalapeno
2 sweet peppers (one red, one yellow)
1/2 onion, diced
1 leek, diced.
a few baby carrots, diced.
1 tsp minced garlic
cilantro
1/4 c oil (olive or grape seed)
1/4 c flour
2 Avocados
1+ qt water
1 qt chicken stock
1 qt heavy cream
Salt, Pepper to taste

The mix of peppers gave the soup a nicer color to begin with. I got plenty of flavor, but a lower heat that my family can handle better. I kinda wish I’d had celery. Anyway, the carrots and sweet peppers and leeks gave a nice sweetness.

I put all the veggies but the avocados in to sweat and soften for a little while, then worked up a roux with the flour and oil, then added the chicken stock and water. I put about two cloves of garlic in (equivalent in pre-chopped garlic paste) and cilantro to taste. I let this marry for a long time, probably an hour, on low heat.

I mashed and added the avocado and let it cook for a little while. The avocado added some color in addition to flavor. When it was good and hot, I hit it with the immersion blender.

An hour or so later, it’s time for the cream. My house smells incredible. I taste it and see that I was a little generous with the salt. Next time less. Not sure how much I put in, because I kind of eyeballed it. Probably two or three teaspoons of kosher salt. Yeah, that should have been a dead giveaway. It’s salty, but doesn’t ruin the flavor. I give it a little time to thicken up while I’m waiting on the family to get home and while I grade another test.

We add some dry cilantro. It will provide some green specs to the avocado-colored soup.

It’s not thick enough. I think I just added too much liquid here. Libby goes to work on it, making a roux out of the oil that gathered on top. Maybe I need to listen to Kris more. Even with heavy cream, avocado, an initial roux, and some good long cooking time, it’s thin. Libby brings it up to a nice silky consistency. I would have liked it a little thicker yet. Maybe next time. There’s always a little crowd inside the silver lining, you know?

Again we make up a little basic salsa. We fill each bowl with soup and add a good dollop of salsa to the center. A few ritz crackers around the edge make it ready for dining.

The kids didn’t think it was too hot this time. I think we nailed that part. The avocado, leek, and carrot made the soup a little sweeter than the variety I had down in Texas, and for my family that was a bonus. The cilantro set off the lighter green color, and the bits of salsa tomato floating on the top gave it a more seasonal color scheme.

It really was quite delicious. I think I’m one or two batches from perfecting our version of this soup.