A Near-Instant, Near-Raw, Whole Flavored, Mineral Rich Meal

Perhaps it sounds too good to be true, but this meal is fo’ real! And the perfect way to ease into healthier eating habits after the permissiveness of the holiday season. This warming dish brings together the benefits of eating a raw salad together with that of soup. A perfect pairing for the winter season, when our bodies crave nourishing cooked foods.

To retain all the vital nutrients found in the raw elements of lettuce, herbs and avocado, this recipe starts in the blender, then after being transferred to a pot the soup is only gently warmed on low heat. You could even use a thermometer to ensure that you don’t overheat the soup, keeping it below about 105°F/ 40°C.

Cooking Notes

This straight forward recipe, but requires one thing: that your ingredients be as fresh and high quality as possible! Because this is the perfect meal for solo diners and meant to be consumed fresh, the recipe yields one portion. Simply multiply the ingredient for more than one serving.

Lettuce

Lettuces are rich in precious B vitamins, but these fragile vitamins are only retained in the plant for up to about 3 days after harvest. Buying lettuce at your Farmer’s Market will guarantee a freshly picked harvest, but if you don’t have access to farm fresh lettuce, just do your best to pick out a crisp and vital looking head of lettuce at your local grocer.

Za’atar

You may have noticed that I’ve developed a little obsession with Za’atar lately. Well if you’ve yet to play with this spice blend at home, get ready to develop a love affair of your own. This is what brings together the flavors of this simple soup and creates depth that feels as complex as a slow stewed dish.

One of the very best Za’atar blends I’ve found is this Spicely Za’atar available on Amazon. It’s not only incredibly delicious, but also gluten free! As so many good things, it comes in a small package worth every penny.

Be sure to season with Za’atar after you’ve transferred the pureed soup to the pot, then garnish the soup with little extra Za’atar once plated. This way the soup maintains some texture and visual appeal.

Bone Broth

I may sound like a broken record on this point, but bone broth is truly the foundation of any nourishing soup and can’t be stressed enough. With this soup in particular, the minerals, collagen and myriad nutrients found in authentic bone broth together with the saturated fat in avocado, allow for an especially effective delivery of bio-available nutrients in the raw elements of this soup.

For the highest quality bone broth, as always, I recommend you make a big batch of your own Homemade Bone Broth. Alternatively you can consider stocking up on Epic’s Homestyle Savory Chicken Bone Broth from Thrive Market.

Although nothing compares to homemade broth, Epic offers some of the best and most affordable readymade bone broths I’ve tasted – and they come packaged in glass jars, not aluminum lined boxes!

Note to avoid the Kettle & Fire broth – despite their marketing the stuff doesn’t taste anything like bone broth.