Quick Avocado Soup with Quesadillas

Step 1

Start by heating up a glug of oil in a saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add 1/4 onion, 1/2 peeled garlic clove, and a sliver of jalapeno (optional).  When the onion is starting to brown you can add this mixture to a blender or food processor along with 2.5 cups of stock, 7-8 sprigs of cilantro, the juice of 1/2 lime, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper.  Combine well.

Step 2

Add the flesh of a single avocado and pulse blend. I like to leave the avocado a bit chunky so I add it in as a final step and just give it a rough blend.

Step 3

Add the blender mixture back to the saucepan and warm it up over medium heat. Avocado Soup is typically served chilled or lukewarm, so I just warm it up gently and serve it right before it reaches a simmer.

Step 4

Take a final taste for seasoning. I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch (so that is a heaping 1/2 teaspoon total), but keep in mind that the exact salt level will depend on which stock you're using. I used this homemade chicken stock that has no salt. Note: this recipe also works great with this homemade vegetable stock.

Step 5

As the soup warms you can build the quesadilla. The quickest way is to add a burrito-sized flour tortilla to a skillet over medium heat and add fixings to only half of the tortilla. I added cheese, leftover Pico de Gallo, and Pickled Jalapenos. Fold in half and then cook each side until light brown spots are forming on the underside of the tortilla, usually about 2-3 minutes per side depending on the heat of the stove.

Step 6

Once the quesadilla is cooked you can cut it in half and serve immediately with the warmed up Avocado Soup.

Step 7

Garnishes for the Avocado Soup are optional so feel free to get creative. For this batch I topped with Crema, freshly cracked black pepper, a few drops of hot sauce (Valentina), and a final squeeze of lime. Yum!!