Cold cucumber and avocado chowder with shrimp: a recipe

Now, all of you regular readers know that I love Mark Bittman. And this is another one of his great recipes from The Food Matters Cookbook.

But he refers to this as not only a chowder but also a cold soup. Really, Mark? It is neither.

What it is is a delicious, healthy cold salad, perfect for hot summer days.

So why no picture of said salad, you may ask? Because this is another one of those dishes that tastes better than it looks.

(But hey now, just take a look at my awesome little Kirby cukes there on the vine! I sense pickles in our future...)


This salad takes no time at all to prepare (if you employ my cheater's shortcut and use pre-cooked frozen shrimp) and is cool and crisp. The orange and avocado puree is just the right blend of sweet and tangy and tastes heavenly on the shrimp.

Chowder, soup, salad ... call it what you will, but I call it a summertime winner.

Cold Cucumber and Avocado Chowder with Shrimp (slightly adapted from Mark Bittman's The Food Matters Cookbook)

Ingredients
5-6 Kirby (pickling) cucumbers, peeled and chopped (if they are very seedy, feel free to seed them as well)
2 avocados, peeled and pitted, 1 chopped
2 oranges, 1 peeled, seeded and chopped and the other juiced
8-9 oz. cooked shrimp (I used fresh-frozen but feel free to grill your own)
1/2 cup sliced green onion
Salt

Directions
Place the un-chopped avocado and the orange juice in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Refrigerate this puree (about an hour is optimal).

Coarsely chop the shrimp and put them in a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, chopped orange, chopped avocado and green onion. Add the puree, toss gently and season to taste with salt.