Mexican Fava Bean Gazpacho With Fresh Mint

This recipe was one of my mother's fava bean soup recipes from central Mexico. it can be enjoyed either as a hot soup or chilled and served as a gazpacho in the summer months.

• Ready In: 1 hr 5 mins
• Serves: 10

Ingredients

• 4  cups  peeled dried fava beans, soaked overnight in himalayan pink salt brine, use 3 tablespoons of HPS with enough filtered water t
• 2  diced turnips
• 2  medium diced tomatoes
• 1  medium  diced  brown onion
• 2  stalks  diced celery
• 2  medium  diced carrots
• 2  thinly sliced  serrano peppers
• 4  minced garlic cloves
• 5  cups  fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
• 5  cups  filtered water
• 1  teaspoon  salt mill coarse ground himalayan pink salt
• 1  teaspoon  pepper mill fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 1 (8 ounce) bag  blue corn tortilla chips
•  extra virgin olive oil
• 25  fresh mint leaves (to garnish)
•  additional fresh mint leaves (to garnish)

Directions

1. • Lightly sauté the turnips, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in a skillet with a light coating of olive oil while adding the Himalayan Pink Salt and pepper.
2. • In a separate soup pan add the chicken broth and water to the rinsed and cleaned Fava beans bring to a slow boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Add the sautéed vegetables from above and the tomatoes, sliced Serrano peppers and 25 mint leaves to the Fava beans and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. • Remove ½ of the above soup mixture and blend in a standard blender. Return the blended soup mixture to the original soup pan and simmer the entire contents for an additional 30 minutes. Let cool and refrigerate until cold.
4. • Here’s the trick serve the gazpacho in your favorite soup bowl, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top, add 2 cranks of your peppermill coarse ground pepper, place 3 dampened mint leaves so that they stand up in the olive oil then add 2 cranks of your salt mill coarse ground Himalayan Pink Salt to the mint leaves. The presentation is very nice and the slight crunch of the salt while eating the gazpacho is excellent. Serve with blue corn tortillas on the side.
5. • Voila “Mexico jus’ like I pictured it”.