There are tons of different ways to make gazpacho, and watermelon is an interesting addition. When I first heard about it I was skeptical, but I actually really liked it. Red onion balances the sweetness, and the watermelon doesn’t dominate too much. I was afraid it would be like a tomato agua fresca, but this recipe comes out solidly soup-like. Refreshing too!
Ingredients
4 cups of watermelon chunks (900g with rind, 700g after removing rind)
½ cucumber (100g)
3 tomatoes (480g)
½ red onion (75g)
handful basil (12g)
2 ice cubes (40g)
salt to taste (start with ~½ tsp)
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Makes ~ 48 oz, enough for 3 or 4 servings.
Blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds. I like to use the bubble removal technique with this sort of soup. You can garnish with a bit of nice olive oil.
It works well with other herbs as well. Try tarragon, mint, or whatever else you like.
Or, check out my more classic gazpacho recipe. Take advantage of all the ripe tomatoes in the home stretch of summer!
You could knock me over with a feather right now: this is actually delicious. I thought it sounded right-awful. But I had some not-good-enough-to-eat watermelon sitting on the counter, so tried it. 5min start to finish and … it is really, really good. I would never in a thousand years have considered mixing these ingredients together. So, as a relative says: “maybe you should try a recipe every now and then”. I recommend it.
Had trouble with the bubble-reducing method b/c this became so watery so quickly that “1” was not low enough. But it was low enough to produce perfectly textured gazpacho – small chunks, not gooshy — just amazing. Who ever woulda thunk. I’m in love with my blender all over again 15 years later. Maybe time to renew my vows….
Glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing your experience!