For this vegan soup, think guacamole – only creamer. Think gazpacho – only greener and topped with the best homemade toppings imaginable.
By Kimberly Espinel
Though still in the midst of Winter, the sun was shining brightly the day I got to hang out with the most influential Raw Chef in the UK – Russell James. I was lucky enough to meet him at an uber-cool converted South London warehouse which is his live/work space. It houses not one but two stunning, envy-worthy kitchens; the first kitchen Russell uses to teach his popular raw food classes, the second one (an electric blue one nonetheless), is his personal kitchen which is as high tech as it is inviting and beautiful.
Now what do you do when you meet a vegan foodie superstar with more than 190,000 facebook followers? Talk plant-based food of course. Check out my informative interview here.
Russell shared the recipe for this Raw Mexican Avocado Lime Soup and Home-Made Sour Cream from his blog with The Little Plantation. It is SO yummy. Think guacamole – only creamer. Think gazpacho – only kinda greener. And think the BEST home-made, vegan sour cream EVER – and you’re there.
Inspired by Russell’s talk about mushrooms, I added some raw Shimeji mushrooms. They are not only beautiful to look at, but super tasty too. AND they are really good for you – packed full of protein, copper, potassium, zinc, selenium and B vitamins. It is thought that the mushroom helps support our body in its break down of sugars, strengthens our immune, nervous, digestive and cardiovascular system and supports our liver. An all around star, don’t you think?
Enjoy this beautiful, fresh and easy soup and thanks for reading everyone.
IMPORTANT: To make this gluten-free, please use a gluten-free soya/tamari sauce. For a paleo/grain-free version, completely omit the soya/tamari sauce and replace with a pinch of salt. Rember you can find more tips at the end of the recipe.
Avocado-Lime Soup with Shimeji Mushrooms and Sour Cream
- Yield: 4 as a starter 1x
Description
For this vegan soup, think guacamole – only creamer. Think gazpacho – only greener and topped with the best homemade toppings imaginable.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the soup:
- 2 (organic) avocados
- 3/4 of a medium (organic) cucumber
- 1 (organic) celery stalk
- Juice of 1 lime
- Small handful of fresh (organic) coriander (cilantro)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used this one)
- 1 teaspoon (organic) tamari or dark soya sauce
- 1 cup (filtered) water
To garnish:
- sour cream (see recipe below)
- chopped (organic) chives (optional)
- Shimeji mushrooms (optional)
- a pinch of ground paprika (optional)
- poppy seeds (optional)
- (organic) baby tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes
Ingredients for the raw, vegan sour cream
- 1 cup (organic) unsalted cashews nuts
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
- 1 tablespoon (organic) apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup (filtered) water
- 1/2 teaspoon Pink Himalayan salt
Instructions
Soup
- Peel the avocado and remove the stone.
- Wash the other ingredients.
- Blend everything in your food blender until nice and smooth (I used a vitamix but any blender will do)
- Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with sour cream, a pinch of paprika, poppy seeds, some chopped chives and mushrooms.
Sour Cream
- Soak the cashew nuts for 2-4 hours. Drain the water away and wash the nuts before using them.
- Then blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Use to garnish the soup. Any left-overs will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days and make for a great dip.
Notes
Tip 1: I wanted to keep the recipe raw, but you can of course marinate the mushrooms in olive oil and garlic and then pan fry them :)
Tip 2: Eat with some home-made crackers. SO good!
- Category: Main, Side
- Cuisine: Vegan, Raw
