Chilled Garlic and Avo soup

Sure, this may not be the best soup for winter, but keep this in mind when it's avo season again.

Ingredients

2 ripe avocados
300ml chicken stock
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, finely chopped
500 ml milk (plus extra in case you need to thin)
Worcestershire sauce – a dash
Juice of one small lemon
Salt and pepper
Chopped chives for garnish

Method

Put all ingredients (except chives) into a blender, whizz until smooth. The soup should be luxuriously textured, but not too thick – you can add a little extra milk to thin if necessary.
Cover with cling wrap and chill for about two hours. Just before serving, stir well, and garnish with chopped chives.

If you're not too sure about the idea of an avo soup, then try this one as a winter immune booster.

Garlic Soup is popular in the South of France where they traditionally thicken it with bread. The way you do this is to chop up some bread into cubes and then add it to the soup as it’s simmering. The bread soaks up liquid and gets soft and kind of mushy. Then you purée the soup, bread and all, in the blender. The wet bread breaks up completely and spreads through the soup making a creamy texture.

Ingredients

7 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion
15 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
6 slices of bread (fresh or stale, white or whole wheat)
1 spring onion
1/3 cup sour cream (optional)

Method

1. Measure the broth into a large microwave-safe bowl and put it in the microwave for 7 minutes.
2. Put a large pot or Dutch oven on medium heat with the olive oil. As it heats, peel and roughly chop the onion. Add it to the olive oil and stir.
   Stir the onion occasionally as you peel the garlic cloves.
3. Arrange all the peeled garlic in a single layer on your cutting board and run a knife through it all several times to roughly chop it. Add it to the onions and cook stirring continuously for 1 minute.
4. Season with the salt and pepper and stop the microwave (if it’s still going) and add the heated broth. Stir and cover. Increase heat to high.
5. Chop the bread into 1/2 inch cubes. Add them to the soup and stir. Put the lid back on.
6. Chop the green stems of the spring onion. Set aside.
7. Once the soup is simmering and the bread is well-soaked, which it should be by now, transfer the soup in batches to a blender and puree until very smooth. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.
8. Ladle into bowls and top each with some of the sour cream, if using, and chopped green onions.