The Garden & Saucier
Avocado Soup with Spinach and Dill
The Strategy:
Soup’s on! Avocado soup, that is. Easy to prepare and adaptable to serve, this soup will become one of your favorites.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced, about 1 ½ cups
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced, about 2 tablespoons
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced, about 2 tablespoons
- 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced, about 3 cups
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1 pound fresh spinach leaves, about 4 to 5 cups
- 2 medium Hass avocados or 1 larger Florida avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced, about 3 cups
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Add the potatoes and stir.
- Pour in the chicken stock.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add the spinach leaves one handful at a time, until cooked down.
- Add the avocado and dill and turn off the heat.
- Cool the soup to room temperature. (Watch out here. Hot soup will expand when blended and pop the top off your blender!)
- Use a blender, food processor, or handheld immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth and velvety.
- Pour back into the pot and season with salt and pepper.
- You can serve the soup warm or chill it in the fridge to serve cold.
- Garnish the soup with toasted pine nuts, a dollop of sour cream, crunchy croutons, or a grilled shrimp. You can garnish this soup with just about anything!
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The Heart of the Table
There is a profound, restorative elegance to serving a soup that is as vibrant and deeply nourishing as this one. Passing a rich, emerald-green bowl across the table to your family is a quiet promise of care, reminding everyone to take a deep breath, settle into the comfort of the moment, and draw genuine strength from the simple act of sharing a meal together.
Neighborly Grace
- THE PRESENTATION: The vibrant, electric green color of this soup demands a dark, wide, shallow bowl for maximum visual contrast. When swirling the sour cream garnish, drop it into the center and use the tip of a paring knife to drag it outward into an elegant spiral. A final scattering of toasted pine nuts adds crucial textural crunch.
- THE POUR: A crisp Sauvignon Blanc or an un-oaked Chablis. You need a wine with high acidity and distinct green, herbaceous notes to complement the fresh dill and cut through the heavy, starchy mouthfeel of the potatoes and avocado.
- THE VIBE: Elegant and restorative. This is an incredibly sophisticated, visually stunning starter course for an upscale spring luncheon or a refined patio dinner.
