Watermelon Gazpacho

So, I was in the mood for a cold soup and was trying to decide between a cucumber soup and gazpacho. Then I thought, "hey! I've got some watermelon and I can add that to a gazpacho", which really just made the decision for me.

Ok, for starters I get a whole seedless watermelon and cut it up into chunks. I didn’t use the whole melon for this recipe but I like to cut up the whole thing right away so I don’t have to do it later if I want to just eat a few pieces. I made this soup for dinner the other day and for a dinner party and I only needed enough for 4 as a starter, about 3.5 cups total. You can always up the quantities as you like. Anyway, after I cut up the melon I placed it into an airtight container and left it in the refrigerator overnight. This way some of the water in the melon will separate out so you can control how loose your soup is.

This was the first version I made for dinner after work for Chris and I. We had this with a little micro green salad and warm potato salad.

Seedless watermelon halved

Giving all the ingredients a good wiz with the hand blander.

Bowls all set to serve.

Close up! Yum!

462g watermelon

217g tomato

95g cucumber

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon lime juice (which is about ½ a lime)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

3 mint leaves (keep some…8ish for garnish)

4 teaspoons crème fraiche, for garnish

olive oil, for garnish

1. Cut up your watermelon and cucumber into chunks that your blender can handle.

2. Cut your tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. I just do this with my fingers over the sink.

3. Combine the watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and 3 mint leaves then blend them until completely blended and smooth.

4. If you think that the soup is a bit too thick, add some of the watermelon liquid a little bit at a time until you’re happy with the consistency.

5. Transfer the mixture to a measuring cup or bowl, cover with cling film and place into the refrigerator. I like to make this a day in advance since the longer it sits in the fridge the more the flavors develop and brighten.

6. To serve (chilled), cut some of your extra mint leaves into strips. Divide the soup equally among your serving bowls. Sprinkle the sliced mint over your soup and add a teaspoon of crème fraiche. Drizzle a little olive oil on top of the whole thing then place 1 or 2 whole leaves to pretty up that bowl!

Boom! Done! Yum!