Crema de Aguacate

Chilled Mexican cream of avocado soup with serrano chilli, crème fraîche and toasted pepitas

Origin: Mexico City & Puebla, Mexico

From the journey of Avocado.

Cold avocado soup is a product of the same logic that produced gazpacho in Andalusia and vichyssoise in France: the recognition that a purée of a naturally cool, creamy ingredient needs no cooking to become one of the most elegant things a kitchen can produce. Crema de aguacate is served throughout central Mexico: in the restaurants of Mexico City, in the market kitchens of Puebla and Oaxaca, and in domestic kitchens where a blender, four ripe avocados, and a lime can produce a first course worthy of any table in ten minutes. The soup sits in the tradition of the Aztec and pre-Aztec use of the avocado as a liquid preparation. Ahuaca-molli (the ancestral guacamole) was a sauce thin enough to be used as a dressing as well as a dip, and the cold soup is its logical extension: the avocado thinned with stock, sharpened with lime and chilli, enriched with crème fraîche or sour cream, and served in a cold bowl with a scattering of toasted pepitas for crunch and a few drops of good Mexican olive oil. The result occupies an interesting culinary space between soup and sauce, between starter and palate cleanser, between ancient preparation and modernist presentation. It requires almost nothing from the cook and reveals everything about the quality of the avocados.

Ingredients

Soup

  • 3 large ripe Hass avocados, halved and stoned
  • 600 ml cold vegetable stock or light chicken stock
  • 150 ml crème fraîche or sour cream, plus extra to serve
  • 1 serrano chilli, roughly chopped (seeds removed for a milder soup)
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
  • 1 small clove of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, plus more to garnish

To Serve

  • 2 tbsp pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted in a dry pan with a pinch of salt until golden
  • a drizzle of good olive oil or chilli oil, to finish
  • thin lime slices or lime zest, to garnish

Method

  1. Scoop the avocado flesh into a blender. Add the cold stock, crème fraîche, serrano chilli, lime juice, garlic, salt, and coriander. Blend on high for 60–90 seconds until completely smooth and creamy.
  2. Taste the soup. It should be bright, creamy, and have a clean chilli heat at the back. Adjust salt and lime juice as needed. If the soup seems too thick, thin with a little more cold stock, one tablespoon at a time.
  3. Transfer to a bowl or jug, press cling film directly onto the surface (this prevents oxidisation and keeps the colour vivid green), and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until thoroughly chilled.
  4. To serve: ladle into cold bowls. Add a small spoonful of crème fraîche in the centre, scatter over the toasted pepitas, add a few coriander leaves, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil or chilli oil. Serve immediately.

Notes

For a richer, more indulgent version, replace the vegetable stock with cold buttermilk: the slight acidity of the buttermilk amplifies the lime and produces a more complex background flavour. A few drops of Tabasco or a pinch of cayenne can substitute for the serrano if needed. This soup is not suitable for freezing.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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