This cucumber avocado soup from Love Soup is fantastic for warm weather days. Even though it's not quite summer yet, it was almost 80 degrees here the other day, which is right on the cusp of too-hot-to-cook in my apartment, so I'm getting ready for the impending [disgustingly humid] NJ summer. 
Cold soups are ridiculously easy and quick to blitz together in any blender. In my photos, I was making a double batch for a group of 10. If you haven't bought in to the Vitamix/Blendtec hype (totally worth it!), you may need to puree this in two stages, but this shouldn't be too difficult to process for any blender. This cucumber avocado soup is filling because of the avocado, balanced with the spicy bite from the arugula, super refreshing, and makes for a nice change from "typical" cold soups like gazpacho. If you aren't a huge fan of cucumber or want to add some variety, you could easily substitute in tomato, zucchini, or even celery.
Cucumber Avocado Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (900 grams) soft-skinned cucumber* about 3
- 6 ounces (170 grams) watercress**
- ¼ cup (180 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 small jalapeno pepper more if your jalapeno is very mild, or you love spice
- 1 small ripe Haas avocado
- 1 - 2 teaspoons salt
Optional garnishes:
- ½ cup plain yogurt or drizzle of fruity olive oil
- finely diced ripe tomato
- croutons
Instructions
- Trim the ends off the cucumbers. Cut into cubes.
- Wash the watercress, remove any thick stems, then roughly chop. This should yield about 2 cups worth.
- Place half the cucumbers and most of the lemon juice into your blender container. Puree. Add the remaining cucumbers, watercress, garlic, and jalapeno. Puree until smooth (you may need to work in batches, depending on the strength and size of your blender).
- Cut the avocado in half, take out the pit, peel, then cut the avocado flesh into cubes. You should have just under 1 cup diced avocado. Add to the cucumber puree, along with 1 teaspoon of salt. Process again. The soup will be much thicker and creamier.
- Stir everything together in a bowl, then taste. Add more lemon juice and salt if desired, a little bit at a time until the balance is right for you.
- Chill the soup at least 30 minutes.
- Serve in small bowls with yogurt or a drizzle of the olive oil, followed by tomato cubes and croutons.
- This soup is best eaten within a couple days, as the creaminess from the avocado will start to disappear and the soup becomes progressively more peppery from the watercress. It can be frozen in individual servings and later defrosted or eaten as a yummy vegetable slushy. If the taste becomes too one-note, restore the soup by adding a few chunks of fresh avocado and give it a quick puree.
Notes
**If you cannot find watercress, arugula will work here as well to provide the peppery flavor both greens are well-known for.
