Remember when we were talking about stock being the secret weapon that restaurants have over you? This barebones Sopa de Aguacate is the perfect litmus test to gauge whether the stock in your kitchen is that secret weapon, or if it’s pointing down at your own foot.
It’s the simplest recipe in the world, but if you use high quality stock you’ll get instant credit for half a day’s worth of work in the kitchen.
Sopa de Aguacate -- Avocado Soup Recipe
After your friends finish their raving, they will inevitably ask for the recipe. You might even hesitate a bit before letting the secret out, just to soak up a bit more of the praise.
No, seriously, what’s the recipe?
The recipe? Blend two avocados with 5 cups of stock.
That’s it?
That’s it.
Two ingredients. Avocados and stock.
But can stock made with upwards of 10 ingredients be labeled as ‘one’ ingredient. And how good does the stock have to be to make this Sopa Aguacate worthy of such high praise? Let’s find out.
There are four stocks we’ll be testing today.
1 Vegetable stock from the supermarket shelf
2 Chicken stock from my local butcher
3 Homemade chicken stock
4 Homemade roasted vegetable stock
As mentioned, the top secret recipe is 5 cups stock for 2 avocados. If you want it creamier you can use 4 cups of stock.
The process will be the same for all the versions:
Lightly warm up the stock on the stove. Pour into blender along with the avocados. Pulse blend. Put back on stove for a couple minutes. Taste.
Storebought Vegetable Stock
OK, Stock Option #1 is a typical vegetable stock bought from the supermarket.
For testing purposes I’ll cut the recipe in half, blending 1 avocado with 2.5 cups of stock:
And then warm up for a bit on the stove. (This is typically served lukewarm so you don’t need to bring it to a boil. You also have the option of serving it chilled.)
The taste result?
¡Que horror! Bland, watered down, very little vegetable flavor. A complete strikeout.
Butcher bought chicken stock
Option #2 is the chicken stock bought from the butcher.
Many local butchers will make stock in house and it’s typically a step up from the supermarket shelf.
Same process. Blend 1 avocado with 2.5 cups of warmed-up stock. (They will all look the same as above from this point forward so I will only be posting taste results.) Warm up lightly on the stove.
The taste result? Overpowering salt attack. Can't taste the avocado as everything gets lost in a cluster bomb of sodium. I would have to water this down significantly to even think about using it.
HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK
Option #3 is a homemade batch of chicken stock.
The taste result?
OK, getting closer. Can taste the avocado for the first time and it’s on the verge of being complemented by the stock. But I’m not sold on the combo of a light, refreshing avocado and a full flavored chicken stock.
Homemade Vegetable Stock
Option #4 is a homemade batch of vegetable stock.
The taste result?
Yes yes yes. Can taste the avocado more than the other options and the light, vibrant flavor of the stock seems to pair well with the avocado.
It tastes complete. And that’s before any seasoning.
If someone made this for me I would have one question racing through my mind: What’s the recipe?
RESULTS
It's kind of humbling how much difference high-quality stock can make. For our simple Sopa Aguacate, Option #1 made with storebought vegetable stock is inedible. Option #4 made with homemade vegetable stock is a total winner.
Having homemade stock in your fridge/freezer can actually simplify the dynamic in your kitchen when you have the option of making a two-ingredient soup that tastes as good as this.
If you have a batch of stock around, consider trying it with this simple Sopa Aguacate recipe.
If the taste result isn't up to your standards you can always try it using this homemade roasted vegetable stock.
Buen Provecho.
P.S. I'm thrilled to now be a part of the Yummly community. Yummly is the web's largest collection of recipes and you can find just about any recipe no matter how specific your taste happens to be -- very cool. You can find my publisher page here, and here is a link on how Yummly works. Enjoy!
Sopa Aguacate - Is Your Kitchen Stocked?
Ingredients
- 2 Avocados
- 5 cups high-quality vegetable stock
Instructions
- Lightly warm stock on stove.
- Cut both avocados in half and scoop the flesh into a blender.
- Add the stock.
- Pulse blend (keeping the blending to a minimum will leave chunks of avocado, yes!).
- Pour into a saucepan and lightly warm up. No need to bring it to a boil. You also have the option of chilling this and serving cold.
Notes
If you've got homemade stock on hand consider making Roasted Poblano Soup or Pinto Bean Soup.
Still hungry?!
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