Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Saints Peter and Paul Avocado Soup


I recently had the pleasure of reading a review copy of Brother Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourrette's The Monastery Garden Cookbook.  It was was sent to me by Monastery Greetings, a lovely catalog based website that combines hundreds of religious and spiritual gifts from Abbeys, Convents, Monasteries, and Hermitages.  

Anyhow, I already own a couple other books by Brother Victor, including Twelve Months of Monastery Soups and Blessings of the Table, and was excited to be able to add this one to my collection as well.   After talking to a friend and looking through the table of contents, it looks like The Monastery Garden Cookbook is a revised version of his out-of-print book Fresh from a Monastery Garden: An A-Z Collection of Delectable Vegetable Recipes, though I don't own a copy of the older book to compare for sure.

This book contains 200 vegetable recipes, starting with Artichokes and ending with Zucchini and Yellow Squash, direct from Brother Victor's kitchen at Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery, complete with illustrations and descriptions.


With the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul coming up tomorrow, the recipe for Saints Peter and Paul Avocado Soup caught my eye and I decided to give it a shot.    Brother Victor says, "This soup is often served in our monastery during the summer months, especially on June 29, the feast of the great apostles Peter and Paul, foundation stones of the church of God, whose icons are venerated in our chapel."

It was quite simple to make (the trip to the market with all the kids for some Avocados and Leeks was by far the hardest part) and it is chilling in the fridge right now.  I tasted a little bit and it is absolutely delicious!  Here is the recipe in case any of you would like to make it for tomorrow.

Saints Peter and Paul Avocado Soup
adapted from The Monastery Garden Cookbook

Ingredients:  

3 leeks, white parts only, trimmed and sliced
3 avocados, peeled and sliced in half
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
lemon rind as garnish

Directions:

Place the leeks in a saucepan, cover with 6 cups of water, and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cook leeks for 15-20 minutes.


Remove pan from heat, allow to cool slightly, and then whirl leeks and water in a blender or food processor.  (I used my Vita-Mix.)  Pour the mixture back into the pan or a large bowl.

 

Tip:  If you'd like to use some of the lemon rind as a garnish, it is probably a good idea to peel the lemon before juicing it for your soup! ;) 


Place the avocados, lemon juice, sour cream paprika, and salt and pepper in the blender or food processor and whirl for about 1 minute.  


Add to the leek mixture and blend all the ingredients well by hand.  Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.  Serve cold and add some lemon rind on the top of each serving as garnish.  

Yields 4-6 servings

The Monastery Garden Cookbook, in addition to many other Catholic Cookbooks, is available at Monastery Greetings.  While you are there, be sure to check out their section on Fruitcakes!  I don't generally care for Fruitcake, but the new Tropical Dessert Cake from The Abbey of Our Lady of Guadalupe is out of this world, or maybe I should say just heavenly!  We'll be enjoying the rest of it for dessert!

Saints Peter and Paul, Pray for us! 
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3 comments:

  1. This sounds delicious, Jessica! Mark was just heading out so he is going to pick up the ingredients at the market while he is out. hooray! :)

    I have two of Brother Victor's cook books and love them. Several recipes have become beloved family favorites. Thanks for sharing this one!

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  2. This was so delicious, Jessica! Thank you - we made it for our Feast yesterday: http://twoortizesplusmore.blogspot.com/2013/06/celebrating-feast-of-sts-peter-and-paul.html

    Thanks again for sharing!

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  3. Hello, I know I am coming late to the party here, but thought I would share my families traditional supper for the feast of St Peter & St Paul.

    First, I wouldn't feel honest unless I let you know that I was raised Church of England, went to a girl's Catholic Convent School and then became an atheist in my mid thirties. Nonetheless we still eat this on the 29th June (and go meatless for Lent and eat no sweets, deserts or cake in Advent - odd how these things stay with you).

    We eat Haddock (BBQed if the weather is good, but usually pan fried as I live in England). Haddock has a black mark on it's skin which is called the mark of St Peter (John Dory has it too). We wrap it in foil with garden herbs and a touch of butter and let it steam then serve with little new potatoes and salad from the garden.

    The only compulsory mass at school was the mass of St Peter and St Paul when the whole school would gather in the gym for mass led by the local Catholic Bishop. Afterwards we would get a school treat - ice cream sandwiches. Obviously we all called the whole event Ice-Cream Mass.

    Therefore dinner on 29th June is always finished with an ice cream desert - baked Alaska if I can be bothered, ice cream and fruit if I can't. Always delicious.

    All my best wishes from England

    Claire

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