Cold Melon Soup DuoJanuary 7, 2016
"Summer time, and the living is easy..." This is the season when we want to eat lightly and not spend hours in the kitchen preparing food that's cool, refreshing, delicious, and beautiful. My dear friends Judy and David introduced me to this delicious and beautiful cold melon soup duo. It's the perfect starter for an easy summer lunch or dinner (or, you can even serve it for dessert with some vanilla ice cream on the side). I've "tweaked" the recipe a bit to suit my taste. What's so wonderful about it, is that the prep time is minimal, but the impact on presentation is huge! It's important, however, to prepare it at least several hours before you plan to serve it (or in the morning). It needs to sit in the fridge for a few hours for two reasons: 1) the flavors need time to "marry"; and 2) it is best served chilled.
Ingredients
- 1 large cantaloupe very ripe, seeded and cut into chunks
- ½ lemon zest of to taste
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon to taste
- 2 tbsp honey to taste
- pinch salt
- 1 large honeydew very ripe, seeded and cut into chunks
- 1 lime zest of to taste
- 2 tbsp sugar or more to taste
- bunch fresh mint to taste
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Place cantaloupe in deep container, pot or bowl. Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.<br/>Or: place in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add cinnamon and juice from ½ of lemon and 2 tbsp of honey and pinch of salt. Give immersion blender/regular blender a whir. Add more lemon juice, and more honey (and cinnamon to taste) if needed.
- Refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours.
- Place honeydew in deep pot, bowl or container with salt , lime zest, lime juice, and 2 tbsp sugar. Blend with immersion blender until smooth. Add about ½ cup of packed fresh (washed) mint leaves. Blend again until smooth. Add more sugar, mint and lime as needed.
- Refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours.
- Use shallow bowls. Simultaneously (from opposite sides) ladle both the cantaloupe soup and honeydew soup into bowl to create yin/yang affect. Garnish with sprig of fresh mint.
Notes
Make this the morning you serve it. It should be refrigerated 4-5 hours before serving.