Prasad owner Karen Pride shares her recipe for a chilled Jamaican Avocado Soup. Yum! Avocados are a warm weather favorite and they’re rich with healthy omega fats, essential for good health, as Kathryn Bruni- Young explains in her article on Summer Nutrition . Enjoy!

Jamaican Avocado Soup

2 oz butter
1 medium onion
2 T fresh ginger
5 really small avocados, or 3 med/large sized
2 T lime juice
2 T orange juice
1 ¾ cup vegetable stock
1 tsp. black pepper
8 chives
handful fresh mint
¾ cup milk of choice
3 T sour cream
1 ½ tsp curry powder

Sauté onion and ginger in butter over medium heat until soft.  Place sautéed onion and ginger in a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.  Serve soup chilled with a swirl of Lime Crema (recipe follows) and a garnish of fresh chopped chives, chopped mint and fresh ground black pepper.

Lime Crema
¼ cup sour cream
2 tsp fresh lime
¼ tsp garlic
¼ tsp salt

Whisk ingredients in a bowl.

This variation is reminiscent of pumpkin pie and is excellent served with a good sourdough or rye bread.

Renee’s Favorite Butternut Soup

pureed butternut squash
1 can coconut milk
2 tablespoons of grated ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon brown sugar
sea salt

In a soup pot heat pureed squash (directions on how to make that here) with one can of coconut milk. Grate fresh ginger root and taking the grated pulp in your hand squeeze out the juice into the soup pot with squash and coconut milk. Stir well and allow to cook together until the soup is quite hot. Salt to taste.

In a small bowl combine nutmeg, chili powder and brown sugar and mix together.

Top with some roasted pumpkin seeds. (Follow the direction for roasting but try adding the nutmeg and brown sugar in with the tamari!)

The best part of it all is that it tastes great. Rich in flavour and full of texture this soup makes a deeply satisfying winter dish.

Superhero Immune Boosting Miso Soup
Makes 4 cups

one handful of dried seaweed (I used kombu, dulse and sea kelp. You don’t have to use all of them, just one would be sufficient. Kombu is the least ‘seaweed-y tasting’ of the three)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, mashed and finely chopped
2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
any seasonal veggies, chopped (I used celery root, carrots, and rapini. In the winter it’s good to use roots and crucifers.)
dark miso paste (miso comes in many varieties, the darker it is the less sweet it is and tends to be slightly higher in probiotics)

Sauté
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 cup cabbage, shredded (green or red)
your choice, either: 2 eggs whisked, 1/2 cup precooked beans, 1/2 cup tofu, or 1/2 cup animal protein
1/2 teaspoon tamari

In a medium soup pot add 5 cups of water with dried seaweed, onion, garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 45 minutes.

Add vegetables in order of longest cooking times (i.e. root vegetables and squash should be added first, allowed to cook in for a few minutes, then vine vegetables (peppers, nightshades), last added are leafy vegetables which should be cooked just for a few minutes to preserve their texture and bright color). Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl add a few tablespoons of hot soup broth to the miso and stir to dissolve. Portion the miso between bowls and add soup on top. (Miso is a traditional food of fermented soy and grain. It’s incredible healthy and contains living enzymes and probiotics that won’t survive if they are cooked or heated above certain temperatures or for too long. For this reason you never want to actually cook it into what you’re making. Just add warm liquid to dissolve the paste and then add it to your dish.)

Adding a sauté brings a variety of texture and added flavour to the soup.

Heat a sauté pan and add oil or butter. Add cabbage and stir so that it’s completely coated with oil. Sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the cabbage has softened sufficiently. Add protein and sauté until it’s cooked to your liking. Mix into soup and serve immediately.

Makes 5 servings

For the stock:

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1/2 pound dried mushrooms, any variety
1 onion, coarsely chopped (including onion skin)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 bay leaves
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
any left over stock vegetables (carrots, celery, potatoes, even lettuce. Vegetables that you want to use up)

For the soup:

3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
1 onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms stems and caps (any variety), finely sliced. Set aside 1/3 of the mushrooms.
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 slice of thick bread or bread crumbs
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup cream or coconut milk (coconut milk will change the flavour significantly, you can also use soy or nut milk)

To prepare the stock:

Heat a large soup pot on medium high, add butter or olive oil and sauté dried mushrooms for 1 minute, add chopped onions and sauté for a few minutes more until the onions are slightly browned add star anise, cinnamon and black pepper and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in 6 cups of water and add the rest of the stock ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer covered for one hour. After one hour strain out the liquid and place in a separate container, discard the solids. Rinse out the soup pot.

For the soup:

Set aside one third of the sliced mushrooms for later.

Heat the same large soup pot on medium high, add 2 tablespoons of oil or butter. Add mushrooms and sauté on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes or until the mushrooms become soft, add onions. Add a tiny pinch of salt and stir, let the onions and mushrooms cook until the mushrooms release their liquid. Add garlic, parsley and bread, stir for one minute and then pour in the red wine. Add mushroom stock and cook, uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

During this time heat a small sauté pan, add 1 tablespoon oil or butter and brown the sliced mushrooms that you set aside earlier.

Remove soup from heat and blend in a blender until the consistency is quite smooth. Return the soup to the pot, add more salt if needed and swirl in the cream.

Serve soup with a garnish of fresh parsley, browned mushrooms and freshly ground black pepper.