Happy Cinco de Mayo

Couldn’t let Cinco de Mayo pass without posting a recipe in honor of the occasion. This rich creamy soup has a refreshing note of lime and is especially good made with homemade salsa. To save time, you can use a bottled salsa and instead of making your own tortilla strips, simply garnish with some corn chips.

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This recipe is from my book, Quick-Fix Vegetarian.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups tomato salsa
3 1/2 to 4 cups vegetable broth
2 ripe Haas avocados
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 corn tortillas

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup of the salsa and 3 cups of the broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Halve and pit one of the avocados and place it in a blender or food processor. Add the soup mixture and process until smooth. Transfer back to the pot, add the lime juice and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper, and remaining broth, if needed. Simmer over low heat while you toast the tortillas.
Lightly brush the tortillas with oil and cut them into thin strips, about 1/4-inch wide by 2-inches long. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the tortilla strips and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes.
Just before serving, halve, pit, and dice the remaining avocado and stir half of it into the soup. To serve, garnish the soup with the remaining diced avocado, remaining 1/2 cup salsa, and the tortilla strips.

Serves 4