Name: ATK V5 Juice
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 1 medium tomato (6 ounces); 2 cups curly-leaf spinach; ½ cup watercress; 1 carrot , unpeeled; 1 celery rib; ⅛–¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional); Coarse sea salt (optional)

Why This Recipe Works

Inspired by the ingredient list of commercially available V8—a beverage made up of eight different vegetables—we sought to create a fresh-tasting, lower-sodium vegetable juice. A defining characteristic of V8 is the thick texture of tomato puree, but after trying blanched and canned tomatoes, we opted for a large raw tomato to let its brightly acidic quality shine. This resulted in a more balanced juice where the other vegetables could be tasted equally. Spinach added a vibrant and complex leafy green flavor, while watercress lent pepperiness that worked well with savory celery. And just one carrot provided the right amount of welcome sweetness against the other vegetables in our pared-down ingredient list. Store-bought V8 is quite salty, so in addition to the natural savoriness of juiced celery, we added Worcestershire and sea salt as optional garnishes to our v5 to emulate that flavor without overpowering you with sodium. While tomato is still the primary component of our v5, the concentrated, vibrant green from the spinach and watercress became the predominant color in our homage juice.

Before You Begin

To process leafy greens, pack them into a tight bundle and fill the feed tube before juicing. You can roll leaves up like a cigar, layering small leaves inside bigger ones. This is especially important for centrifugal juicers.

Instructions

On low speed, process tomato through juicer into storage container or serving glass. Increase speed to high and process spinach, watercress, carrot, and celery (in that order). Stir in Worcestershire sauce and sprinkle with salt, if using. Stir to combine before serving.