Today’s post comes from LMS contributer, Adam Carr. Adam is a recent UC Berkeley graduate and social media intern living in Berkeley, California. He has an unhealthy addiction to baguette, brie, and pretty much every show on television.

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The other day I broke my Yom Kippur fast at a deep-fried food themed birthday party, a veritable paradise of food you experience on a regular basis, but with a glistening, golden exterior. My evening should have been a separate holiday called “Nom Kippur.” For those of you who have not experienced one of these events, you feel very, very full afterward. It’s a fullness that makes post-Thanksgiving feel like a few hors d’oeuvres. Then the guilt sinks in, like a telltale heart that’s been battered and dropped into boiling oil (note to self: deep fried hearts). I was saturated with this greasy guilt, and the only way to relieve it was with something light and refreshing to clear my conscience (and arteries).

That being said, I wanted to atone for my indulgences while still, well… indulging. Enter Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup: a light, refreshing soup with a kick. I felt like Sam I Am while pushing this on my roommates, since just about every ingredient in this recipe is green: avocados, cucumbers, green curry paste, limes, and so on. This soup doesn’t have a drop of oil, butter, or cream. It gets its creaminess from coconut milk, which is full of “good” saturated fats, and avocados.

Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup

Cucumber Puree

Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup

My favorite second step: “add all other ingredients”

Aside from a bit of chopping this recipe takes a minimal amount of effort, it’s essentially just adding the prepped ingredients to a food processor one by one. By omitting the water and adding a bit of extra curry paste this makes a great dip for veggies and pita chips. It passed my dip test, in that I felt fine after Drew Brees and the Saints crushed my Niners as the clock expired on Monday Night Football (I wasn’t fine).

I made just a few minor alterations to the recipe. Rather than placing a cilantro sprig as garnish, I chopped a bunch of leaves and sprinkled them into the soup. The Cilantro complimented the other refreshing flavors well. Also, I couldn’t find unsweetened coconut flakes, so I omitted them, but I do think that they would have added that bit of crunch that was missing.

 

Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup

Perhaps the classiest use of a shot glass

I’m always impressed when someone serves palate cleansers, and I think this fits that role perfectly.

With cold weather approaching I probably won’t make this soup again for a while, but I’ve definitely got it up my sleeve for an unexpected hot day. It’s one of those recipes that you can shop for and complete without needing a computer, iPhone, or some sort of archaic, non-digital means of reading a recipe.

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Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup

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Spicy Avocado-Cucumber Soup

Yield: Serves 10

Recipe by Marcia Kiesel, as published in Food & Wine Magazine.

Ingredients

  • Two 12-ounce cucumbers peeled, seeded and chopped
  • 2 Hass avocados, coarsely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons Thai green curry paste
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
  • 1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped
  • One 13-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, for garnish
  • 10 cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, puree the cucumbers until smooth. Add the avocados, curry paste, sugar, lime zest and chile. Process until blended. Add 3 1/2 cups of water, the coconut milk and lime juice and process until smooth. Transfer the soup to a large bowl and season with salt. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, 15 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, toast the coconut over low heat, stirring a few times, until lightly browned and crisp, 3 minutes. Let cool.
  3. Ladle the soup into small bowls or cups, garnish with the toasted coconut flakes and cilantro sprigs and serve.
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This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD & WINE archive. As a FOOD & WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD & WINE. I received a subscription to FOOD & WINE for my participation.

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http://lickmyspoon.com/recipes/spicy-avocado-cucumber-soup/