Creamy Melon Gazpacho Recipes

HONEYDEW MELON GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Roughly chop the melon and add to the bowl of a food processor, reserving some for garnish. Chop the cucumber and halve the grapes and add to the food processor. Top with the spinach, basil, scallions and serrano. Splash in the olive oil, champagne vinegar, lime juice and honey. Process until the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute. Add half the avocado and process again until the avocado has been completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and thin with ice water if necessary to reach desired consistency.
• Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• To serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the diced honeydew, sliced avocado, and cilantro leaves. Serve with wedges of lime on the side.

WATERMELON GAZPACHO WITH FETA CREMA

Steps:

• Gazpacho:
• Purée watermelon, tomato, cucumber, jalapeño, oil, and vinegar in a blender until smooth.
• Transfer gazpacho to a large bowl; season with kosher salt and pepper. Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving.
• Do ahead: Gazpacho can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
• Crema and assembly:
• Preheat oven to 350°. Toast almonds on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can do this step in a dry small skillet over medium heat.) Let almonds cool, then coarsely chop.
• Mash feta into sour cream in a small bowl until mostly smooth, then whisk in milk.
• Divide watermelon and cucumber among bowls and pour gazpacho over. Top with crema and almonds, drizzle with oil, and season with sea salt and pepper.
• Do ahead: Crema can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

CREAMY GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Place the bread in a large bowl. Pour the reserved tomato juice over the stale bread and set it aside for at least 10 minutes. Not only will this soften the bread, but also infuse it with the tomato flavor.
• In a food processor or a powerful blender, add all of the chopped vegetables. Puree the vegetables until they start to breakdown.
• Add the bread and the sherry vinegar to the blender. Turn the blender on and stream in the olive oil. Puree the mixture until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. If the consistency is too thick, add water or more vinegar if you like, to adjust the thickness. Place the gazpacho into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to marry with one another.
• Serve the gazpacho in glasses, like they do in Spain, or you can serve it in bowls if you prefer.
• Cook's Notes: To make your gazpacho spicier, add some of the ribs and seeds from the jalapeno. You can adjust the oil and vinegar in this recipe to make it tangier if you like!
• Gazpacho gets better the longer that it sits.

WATERMELON GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Combine 5 cups watermelon and the cranberry juice in the jar of a blender, and puree until mixture is smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a large bowl or plastic storage container, discarding pulp. You should have 3 cups strained liquid.
• Add cucumber, celery, bell pepper, onion, herbs, lime juice, vinegar, jalapeno, and remaining cup chopped melon to watermelon liquid, and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator until soup is well chilled, at least 1 hour. Serve, or store in refrigerator up to 1 day.

TOMATO-MELON GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Cut the tomato flesh into 1-inch chunks. Seed the melon and remove the flesh from the rind; cut it into chunks. Put a tablespoon of olive oil in each of two 10- or 12-inch skillets and turn the heat under both to high (you can do this sequentially if you have only one skillet). Add the melon to one skillet and the tomatoes to the other and cook, stirring, until they become juicy, no longer than 2 minutes.
• In a blender, puree the melon, tomato, 1 1/2 cups water or 1 cup water plus 1/2 cup ice cubes, and the basil, along with some salt and pepper. Chill, then add lemon juice to taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve.

JULIA'S WATERMELON GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Reserve 20 small pieces of watermelon for garnish. Working in batches, place the remaining watermelon, the cucumbers, red bell peppers, onion, jalapeno pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, 3 tablespoons of fresh mint, the ginger, honey, and pineapple juice into a blender, and blend for about 30 seconds per batch. The mixture should be well blended but retain some texture. Pour into a large pitcher or bowl, and refrigerate 1 hour. Serve in bowls, and garnish each bowl with a couple of chunks of the retained watermelon and 2 small mint leaves.

WATERMELON AND CUCUMBER GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Puree 4 cups watermelon in blender until smooth.
• Transfer puree to large bowl.
• Add remaining 1 cup diced watermelon and next 10 ingredients; stir to combine.
• Cover gazpacho and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
• Divide gazpacho among bowls and top with dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream.
• Makes 4 servings.
• Bon Appétit.
• August 2005.

CREAMY MELON GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Pour 1 1/2 cups cold water over bread in bowl. Set aside 10 minutes to soak.
• Blend softened bread and water in blender until smooth. Add cantaloupe, cucumber, shallot, sherry, oil, and lemon juice; blend until smooth.
• Strain through fine sieve for smooth consistency, if desired, and discard solids. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
• Chill 2 hours, or overnight. Serve sprinkled with smoked paprika.