Summer is almost here, and that means cold soups, gazpachos, and watermelon, lots of watermelon. And watermelon can be the base for a great raw soup. I found this version at The Sunny Raw Kitchen, and with a few tweaks, made it fabulous. Be warned, it makes a lot of soup, (6 cups) and the habanero chili is hot, so play with caution, use gloves if you are sensitive to capsicum.
Traditional Gazpacho is defined as a cold Spanish tomato-based raw soup. Modern variations include Avocado, Cucumber, Parsley, Watermelon, grapes, meat-stock, seafood, as well as other ingredients. If there are those who want to argue that Watermelon cannot be gazpacho, I beg to differ. If the definition of gazpacho is cold and raw, then this Soup is Gazpacho. And refreshing!
- 3 cups watermelon (use seedless if you don't like taking seeds out)
- 1 habanero chili
- 1 mango, diced (can be large diced)
- 1/2 tsp cardamom seed
- 1 tsp agave syrup
- 1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
- finely diced watermelon and mango pieces for garnish
- Assemble all ingredients. Remove cardamom seeds from their shells. Place all ingredients except for cilantro and agave in blender and puree. Transfer to a bowl, and add agave and cilantro. Garnish with finely diced mango and watermelon pieces.
- Serve on a hot day with fresh-made lemonade.
