Equipment
Ingredients
Avocado Soup Base
- 400 g hass avocado, flesh only, ripe
- 300 g english cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- 10 g garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 250 ml vegetable broth, chilled
- 60 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 45 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 5 g kosher salt
- 2 g black pepper, freshly cracked
Crab Salad
- 225 g jumbo lump crab meat, pasteurized and cooked, picked over for shells
- 50 g celery, finely diced
- 45 g mayonnaise
- 15 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 10 g fresh chives, finely minced
- 5 g fresh tarragon, finely minced
- 2 g old bay seasoning
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 415 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbohydrates
- 16 g
- Fat
- 35 g
- Fiber
- 8 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 989 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 5 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 20 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 8 g
- Cholesterol
- 59 mg
- Potassium
- 879 mg
- Calcium
- 118 mg
- Iron
- 2.0 mg
- Magnesium
- 72 mg
- Phosphorus
- 220 mg
- Zinc
- 3.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 44 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 23 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.0 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 5.2 mg
- Vitamin K
- 63 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.4 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.9 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.13 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.23 mg
- Niacin
- 3.5 mg
- Folate
- 122 mcg
- Water
- 284 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Prepare the soup vegetables by peeling and seeding the cucumber, peeling and pitting the avocados, and roughly chopping the garlic cloves.
Combine the avocado flesh, chopped cucumber, garlic, vegetable broth, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and black pepper in a high-speed blender. Blend on high until completely smooth and emulsified into a velvety liquid.
Transfer the blended soup to a clean container. Press a layer of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the soup to prevent oxidation, and chill in the refrigerator at 4 degrees Celsius or 39 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to meld.
While the soup chills, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, finely diced celery, minced chives, minced tarragon, and Old Bay seasoning in a medium mixing bowl to create the crab salad dressing.
Gently fold the jumbo lump crab meat into the dressing mixture. Use a soft spatula and extremely gentle folding motions to ensure the large lumps of crab meat do not break apart. Cover and keep refrigerated until serving.
Ladle the fully chilled avocado soup into cold serving bowls. Mound a generous, neat portion of the crab salad directly in the center of each bowl. Serve immediately while frosty and crisp.
Chef's Notes
- For an impeccably smooth texture, ensure your avocados yield easily to gentle pressure. Underripe avocados will result in a grainy, chalky soup that lacks proper emulsification.
- Always pick through store-bought crab meat manually. Even high-end lump crab can contain small pieces of cartilage or shell that ruin the dining experience.
- Acid is the primary balancing factor in this dish. Adjust the lime juice in the soup and the lemon juice in the salad according to the natural sweetness of your specific batch of crab.
- Chilling the serving bowls in the freezer for ten minutes before plating will help the soup maintain its refreshing temperature throughout the meal.
- Raw garlic sharpens significantly when pureed and chilled. Sticking to the specified 10g ensures the garlic plays a supporting aromatic role without overpowering the delicate seafood.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 day — Avocado base will oxidize slightly over time; press plastic wrap directly to the surface of the soup to minimize browning.
Reheating: Do not reheat. Serve thoroughly chilled.
Troubleshooting
Soup is too thick or resembles a pudding
Cause: Avocados yielded more flesh than average, or cucumber lacked moisture content.
Fix: Whisk in additional cold vegetable broth or ice water, 15ml at a time, until the soup reaches a pourable, silky consistency.
Prevention: Weigh all primary ingredients accurately rather than relying on visual approximations.
Crab salad tastes fishy or muddy
Cause: Crab meat was past its prime or stored at an improper temperature.
Fix: Cannot be fixed. Discard for safety.
Prevention: Purchase high-quality pasteurized crab and keep it strictly under 4 degrees Celsius at all times.
Cultural Context
While chilled avocado soup traces its primary roots to Central American culinary traditions, pairing it with a lightly dressed lump crab salad heavily channels classic New England summer seafood preparations. This fusion creates an elegant appetizer that plays on the contrast between buttery, rich botanical fats and the delicate, briny sweetness of cold water crab.
