Featured Recipe: Avocado Soup with Cheesy Tortillas in No Time

The following recipe is just for readers of this newsletter, “In Step With Jonny”—it’s an advance preview of our forthcoming book, “The 150 Healthiest 15-Minute Meals on Earth” by myself and my co-author, chef extraordinaire Jeannette Bessinger. Enjoy!

Here’s a little-known fun fact about avocados that I’ll be you didn’t know: They have fiber. Lots of it. A whopping 13.6 grams per avocado, which puts them right smack in the middle of the category of food with the most fiber on the planet, bens. Sure, avocados have a reputation as being “fattening”, but that’s only because they’re moderately high in calories, not because there’s anything inherently “fattening” about them. Fact is, they’re loaded with some of the healthiest fat on the planet (the same monounsaturated fat found in olive oil.) They have twice the potassium of a banana, a decent amount of folate (163 mcg), and provide about 4 grams of protein. What a superstar food! And what a rich, satisfying soup you can make from them, which is exactly what Chef Jeannette has whipped up in this creamy soup recipe, which you can put together in literally minutes with zero cooking. Wait till you try it!

Ingredients:
Avocado Soup

2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped

2 cups baby spinach

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

Juice of 1 lime

¼ teaspoon salt

1/5 teaspoon black pepper

Few dashes hot sauce, optional, to taste

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup jarred salsa

Cheesy Tortillas

4 sprouted corn tortillas (6 inches)

Drizzle olive oil

2 medium heirloom tomatoes, sliced thick

2/3 cup shredded jalapeno, Jack cheese

Preheat the boiler
Place the avocados, spinach and broth in a strong blender or food processor, blending until smooth. Season with the lime juice, salt, pepper and hot sauce, if using, to taste, and pulse briefly to incorporate.
In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and salsa and mix well.
Lay the sprouted corn tortillas on a broiler pan and drizzle or brush lightly with olive oil. Lay two slices of tomato on each tortilla and sprinkle with the cheese, dividing evenly. Broil the tortillas for about a minute or until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes are hot, watching carefully to prevent burning.
Divide the soup among four bowls and garnish with the yogurt salsa to taste. Serve the soup with the tortillas.

Yield: 4 servings.

Per Serving: 369 calories; 20g fat; 12g protein; 40g carbohydrate; 10g dietary fiber; 433mg sodium