• 1 medium tomato, cored and cut into quarters
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks
• Flesh from 1/2 avocado, cut into large chunks
• 3 large basil leaves
• 1/2 jalapeño (optional)
• 3/4 cup lightly packed watercress or baby spinach leaves
• 1 small celery stalk (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 ice cubes
• Filtered water (optional)
• Kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Reserve one-quarter of the tomato, two cucumber chunks, two avocado chunks, and one basil leaf. Combine and finely chop for garnish.

Stem and seed the jalapeño half and reserve the seeds. Cut the jalapeño into several pieces. Combine one or two pieces of the jalapeño with the remaining tomato, cucumber, avocado, and basil and the watercress or spinach, celery, garlic, red wine vinegar, honey, and ice cubes in a blender or the bowl of a food processor; puree until smooth. Add 1/4 cup or more water to thin the mixture, if necessary.

Taste and season with salt, pepper, and more vinegar, if needed. If you want the soup spicier, add more of the jalapeño, a little at a time, as well as some of the seeds if desired, blending and tasting after each addition. Refrigerate until cold, then pour into a bowl and top with the reserved chopped tomato, cucumber, avocado, and basil and a drizzle of olive oil, and eat.

Source Information
Reprinted with permission from Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook by Joe Yonan, © 2013 Ten Speed Press

JOE YONAN is the food and travel editor for The Washington Post , where he writes regular features, including the "Weeknight Vegetarian" column. He is the author of Eat Your Vegetables and Serve Yourself , which Serious Eats called "truly thoughtful, useful, and incredibly delicious." Yonan has won awards for writing and editing from the James Beard Foundation, the Association of Food Journalists, and the Society of American Travel Writers, and his work has been featured three times in the Best Food Writing anthology.