Chicken Soup With Lime and Avocado

When I lived in France, in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, I hardly ever ate avocados. Those sold in the markets were smooth, thin-skinned varieties grown mostly in Israel. They were watery, not as creamy or nutty-tasting as Haas avocados, the dark, pebbly-skinned variety that we get in California. “Poor man’s butter,” they used to call avocados when my father was a child. (Now they would more aptly be described as “rich man’s butter.”) Simple Mexican soups like this one often include avocado, which is diced or sliced and added to the soup when it’s ladled into bowls.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade, or 1 quart commercial chicken broth and 1 quart water
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 serrano or jalapeño chile, seeded if desired and minced
• 1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced, or 1 (14-ounce) can, drained
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste), plus thin slices of lime for garnish
• 1 avocado, cut in small dice or thinly sliced
• Corn tortilla crisps for garnish

• Nutritional Information

  • Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

    364 calories; 16 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 12 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 50 milligrams cholesterol; 742 milligrams sodium

  Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
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Serves four

Preparation

1. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer, add the onion, garlic and chile, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, and simmer for another five minutes. Taste and adjust salt, then stir in the chicken breast and chopped cilantro. Cover and let sit for five minutes. Add the lime juice.
3. Divide the avocado between four soup bowls. Ladle in the soup, place a slice of lime on each bowl, and serve with crisp corn tortillas.

• Advance preparation: You can make this through step 1 several hours or even a day ahead.

About 30 minutes