Source:

Elizabeth Luard

Serves/Makes:4

Ingredients

• 2 large or 3 small, perfectly ripe avocadoes
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 green pepper, hulled and deseeded
• 1 green chili, hulled and deseeded
• 1 Spanish onion, skinned
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 pint cold, pure water
• 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
• Small bunch fresh cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime or lemon
• To serve:
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) sour cream
• 1 lime, quartered
• rough salt
• chilled tequila (optional)

Preparation

• Skin, halve, and stone avocadoes.
• Roughly chop cucumber, pepper, chili, onion and garlic; put them in blender (or vegetable juicer, if available) with the water and process thoroughly.
• Strain, pressing well to extract all the juices.
• Return strained liquid to blender with avocado flesh, cilantro leaves (leaving a few for decoration), lime juice and salt.
• Process to puree, adjust seasoning, bearing in mind people will have their own salt and lime quarters.
• Serve chilled, topped with a dollop of sour cream, lime quarters and rough salt.
• Accompany with little glasses of tequila, either to sip with lime and salt, or to stir directly into the soup. (optional)

Comments

The classic Spanish gazpacho relies on tomatoes for flavour and bread for thickening, but in this Mexican version, the rich flesh of the avocadoes provides both.