Watermelon Gazpacho

I have only had watermelon gazpacho once before in a restaurant and at the time I distinctly remember thinking it tasted just like eating a bowl of salsa. Don’t get me wrong, I love salsa...but I didn’t really want to eat it like soup. Even though it was listed on the menu as WATERMELON gazpacho I had a really hard time identifying any watermelon flavor! I was inspired by the concept of watermelon gazpacho but underwhelmed by the result. So I did what I always do...I came home and tried to make a better version. After scouring the internet for recipes I was disappointed that all the ones I found were either full of olive oil (unnecessary calories and fat), had honey or sugar added (isn’t watermelon sweet enough on its own?), looked disgusting (watermelon gazpacho should not be brown), or had a horrifying mix of flavors like basil, cloves, anise and bay leaves (...what?). So I took the best parts from many of those other recipes and came up with this: a simple, low-calorie soup that is full of fresh, seasonal produce and even looks appetizing! Plus you won’t even want to dip your tortilla chips in it!

Makes: 12 cups

Preparation time: 2h30m
Cooking time: 2h30m
Total time: 2h30m

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup sliced red onion
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 4 cups chopped seedless watermelon
  • 1 large red bell pepper (roughly chopped and de-seeded)
  • 1 cup chopped cucumber (peeled - if it has a tough skin that you wouldn’t normally eat, english cucumbers don’t need to be peeled)
  • 1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
  • 1 jalapeño (roughly chopped and de-seeded)
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (1-2 limes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon course salt
  • 4 cups cubed seedless watermelon (1/4 - 1/2 inch cubes)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped basil

Equipment: blender, large fridge-safe container

Instructions:

  1. Place the sliced red onion and the vinegar into a bowl large enough to hold both and let them sit for about 15 minutes. The vinegar helps to take the bite off the onions, likewise, the onions mellow out the vinegar.
  2. Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients. Place the first 4 cups of watermelon, bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, jalapeño, lime juice and salt into a blender.
  3. Drain the onions, you can keep the vinegar to make salad dressing out of later, but you won’t need it for anything else in this recipe. Then add the onions to the blender. Blend these ingredients on high until smooth.
  4. Pour the soup base out into a fridge-safe container with a tight fitting lid. Then add the cubed watermelon and basil. Gently stir these in, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
  5. Serve chilled.