When I wrote this post in early June, it was supposed to be summer in Toronto but the temperatures had not been warm to say the least and we’ve had to turn the heat on or have had a fire in our wood burning fireplace a few more times than I would have liked in June, but being a Canadian just means we buckle down and bear it; I refused to stop wearing my open toe shoes and sandals and I’m cooking like it’s summer. But now, the high humidity has rolled in and lots of rain and thunder, so this is a perfect little refresher particularly when it’s dark and drizzly outside.
We had my best friend from University Kim and her hubby here for a brunch the other week and I wanted to make a chilled soup with lots of colour so I did what I normally do, I Googled it. Up came the New York Times 12 cold soups and I was immediately smitten! I loved the layout of this spread, the colours and the variety if soups. I settled on the Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho because the combination of ingredients really called out to me — so fresh and clean and the colour is gorgeous. Do check out the link because you too will be impressed; I know I will be inspired to make a few of these beauties over the summer months. I would suggest you make extra and freeze it, it makes a gorgeous little amuse bouche for your next dinner party, served in little shot glasses.
The original recipe can be found here, but of course I had to change it up a wee bit. Thanks to Kelly at Inspired Edibles for putting me onto Pineapple Sage, I found it at my garden centre and immediately bought a plant for my patio and I was inspired to add a few leaves to this delicious soup.
Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho
Makes 500 mL give or take (100 mL each of four servings with 100 mL to freeze for another dinner party)
Soup Ingredients:
- 700 g seedless watermelon, cubed
- 200 g seedless cucumber, peeled and cubed
- 150 mL (1/2 cup) seedless, skinless tomato purée
- few leaves of lemon mint
- 1 large mint leaf
- 2 large pineapple sage leaves
- 1/3 up lime cordial (or just use lime juice if your watermelon is super sweet, ours was not)
- splash of lime juice
Salsa Ingredients:
- 150 g finely cubed seedless watermelon
- 60 g finely cubed seedless cucumber
- 50 g finely cubed celery
- 4-6 tbsp crumbled sheeps milk feta
- 1 mint leaf, fine julienne
- 2 pineapple sage leaves, fine julienne
Directions:
- Put all the soup ingredients into a large bowl and purée with your immersion blender until you get a smooth thick soup. Strain through a fine sieve.
- Refrigerate overnight so flavours can build.
- Combine the finely cubed salsa ingredients and toss with the herbs of herbs.
- Serve in chilled rimed soup bowls, garnish with a spoonful or two of the salsa.
[…] Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho with Watermelon Cucumber Salsa […]
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[…] A brighter Watermelon Gazpacho can be found here. […]
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I want to love gazpacho… I’ve tried a few times now. I’ve always gone for tomato-based gazpacho (despite the fact that, although I love tomatoes, I dislike tomato juice). I think I should give it another try…. with this watermelon recipe!
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Hi Amber, this soup has an entirely different flavour to the traditional gazpacho, and if you really don’t enjoy tomato juice, then leave the tomatoes out of the recipe, you may even want to add a few roasted red peppers instead of the tomato juice.
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Mm, so this is the watermelon gazpacho which I heard about a while back. So glad the recipe is finally up. It looks outstanding – so colourful and definitely something I will try in the coming months. Watermelons are cheap as chips right now so it’s the perfect time to do something like this.
Have you seen those mill sieve things… not sure what they’re called. My Spanish colleague has one (she makes amazing gazpacho) and you pour in the soup, turn the handle and it kind of sluices everything through and filters it… really useful!
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Hi Charles, thank you for your lovely words. I have a food mill (that’s what they call it here) but I use it so rarely that I always forget that I have it. Thanks for the reminder, I really must put it into a place that I’ll come across it more often!
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Chilled watermelon gazpacho sounds so good I think I want to swim in it. As Donalyn said, ‘if it tastes as good as it looks…’ holy cow! amazing, Eva!
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Thank you so much Maureen, I am very flattered for your lovely compliments. The colour is indeed striking but the flavour is also quite lovely and refreshing too.
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Oh, this sounds like the freshest summer in a bowl recipe I’ve seen in a long while. I love the flavors and it looks so pretty, perfect for a dinner party, even in a heavy jacket! Our weather has been just so bizarre lately, it really does make one wonder, doesn’t it? We have the sun peaking out today, so I hope it does the same for you soon!! xx
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Hi Barbara, thank you for your lovely words. I’m glad that Calgary is getting back on track, just in the nick of time for Stampede. The soup is indeed a show stopper because of the striking colour.
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We’ve had very similar weather. One day is beautiful and I get excited that it’s finally summer. Then the next day it was cool and rainy again. Like you said though…grin and bear it. It is summer after all. This soup sounds delicious. I’m likely the only one that would eat it. Well, maybe Miss A. She likes watermelon too. Not Mike or Mr. N though. Still I think it’s worth it to give it a shot. If nothing else, Miss A and I will have more to ourselves. 🙂
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Thanks Kristy, you can try it with other melons as well, I’m hoping to try it with Honeydew this summer, I think the bright green might be nice for a hot summers day (if we ever get one!).
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If it tastes as good as it looks, count me in! I have never tried a fruity gazpacho – something to put on my list for when the watermelons are ripe around here!
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Thanks Donalyn, that’s very nice of you to say. The Hungarians have a cold sour cherry soup that is equally as refreshing.
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Sounds fantastic, Eva, and freezing it for later use is a wonderful idea. I need to consider making soups like this one more often. Doing so would allow me to buy watermelon more often. As it is, I rarely buy one, or even part of one, because there’s just too much for me to handle. A cold watermelon soup — one that can be frozen — is the answer. Thanks for sharing the recipe and lik, not to mention the inspiration. 🙂
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Thanks John, I do a lot of freezing particularly soups because it then allows me to spend more time on the other components of the dinner, which makes it seem like I’ve spent a lot of time on everything! But I didn’t! It’s a very refreshing soup, I hope you do try it if we ever get warm weather again.
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it screams refreshing! Simple ingredients equal delicious meals! I love this. perfect summer appetizer or dinner
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Thanks Jessica, it was a wonderfully refreshing dish, I’ll be making it again and again provided the weather turns warm again.
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I need a gallon of that. It was 101 today!
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Yikes, that sure is hot Greg, I think I would melt. It’s been chilly again in these parts and lots of rain.
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I have never heard of pineapple sage leaves. Are they pretty much the same as normal sage? This soup looks so pretty. It’s such a lovely colour and I think the flavours would be wonderful and yes, this would be perfect served on a hot and humid day, if only there was one! xx
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Hi Charlie, thank you for your lovely words. Pineapple sage is a much coarser sage leaf but with the distinct aroma and flavour of pineapple. Quite unique but it did pair well with the watermelon and the cucumber.
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Gorgeous color! Must make this soup when good quality watermelon appears on the market.
This crazy weather is driving me batty, had the same weather issues as you in the Hudson Valley.
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Hi Norma, we were at the cottage this weekend and this morning I thought about putting the heater on it was that cold! But here in the city it’s not too bad, and finally we see some lovely sunshine. The soup would not be as good if the watermelon was not sweet, so waiting for the quality ones is a good idea.
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Eva, we are also having an awful day today… It’s raining, it’s windy… not like summer at all. I will remember your lovely soup for warmer days because there is nothing more refreshing than cucumber and watermelon and combining them together sounds like an excellent idea! (Actually some people who don’t like watermelon say that it’s like sweetened cucumber! I love both and cannot understand how one can ignore the delicate aroma and taste of a watermelon…) Anyway, I’m glad you could profit from the sunny day!
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Thank you Sissi, it was a lovely soup and I’ll be making it again this summer…provided it gets warm again. We were at the cottage this weekend and this morning I thought about putting the heater on, it was only 12°C! Not exactly a summers day.
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The gazpacho is so bright and colourful. Your visuals are always stunning and I’m sure the taste is just as amazing.
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Thank you for the lovely compliment Maria, it was a very refreshing soup.
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You chilled soup looks wonderful Eva. It hasn’t felt like summer in Maine either. We have had rain every afternoon for days and I don’t know when it is going to stop.
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Thanks Karen, the weather sure has been strange.
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The gazpacho looks so refreshing!
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Thank you so much Angie, it was very delicious — I’ll be making it again for certain.
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This gazpacho looks simply beautiful in colour and flavour, I would love to try it 😀
Cheers
CCU
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Thanks CCU, it was very refreshing.
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Looks divine Eva. I love alternative Gazpachos. What are the white bits in the salsa? I thought they were feta cheese, which is excellent with watermelon, but couldn’t find it in the recipe.
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Thanks David, I thought I proofed this recipe through and through…just goes to show what a second set of eyes can do, appreciate the heads up. The salty feta really helps balance the sweetness of the watermelon.
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