If you are like me, a watermelon lasts for days and days. The arrival of a watermelon requires cutting diagrams and refrigerator blueprints. I dice some for breakfast and snacking. Then I consider all the ways to sneak them into a week’s worth of menus. This Watermelon Gazpacho takes advantage of the fruit’s natural juiciness and sweetness to balance rich tomato juice. It’s fast and fresh, exactly the way I like to cook in summer.
A dear friend gave me the specimen from Frey Farms that I used to develop this recipe. (Check them out, a cool company that makes Tsamma Watermelon Juice too.) A semi- seedless variety, this watermelon weighed 12 pounds. With a thin rind, it was easy to cut into slender slices then dice. But unlike some varieties, this one is quite sweet.
Blended tomato vegetable juice such as V8 or Very Veggie, Charlie’s favorite, are handy. You drink it for breakfast, use it in cocktails. It’s great when you need a dilute a rich soup or stock. Or if you need to thin tomato sauce for pasta. That’s why I used it in this recipe. You will want to put your own spin on the flavor in this soup. But I recommend you stick with the ratio of prepared juice, tomato and watermelon.
While a true Andalusian tomato gazpacho welcomes many savory garnishes, this Watermelon Gazpacho stands on its own. Serve it when the weather in unbearable. Those days when you can’t bring yourself to cook.
Kitchen Notebook
Almonds go through many stages as they grow and mature into a crunchy and buttery snack. Fresh almonds appear in early summer several weeks before the nuts are ready to harvest. The fuzzy green hull is still present but now the nut has firmed. It is solid and crisp but not solid and still quite moist. I tossed a few fresh almonds onto the gazpacho pictured here. You could use whole fresh almonds in their place. Or if you are lucky enough to hit the season right, fresh almonds are perfect. My friend at Stewart and Jasper send me green and fresh almonds every season to play with. I’m grateful that they feed my passion for these tree nuts.
Ingredients
Soup:
2 cups V8 or other tomato vegetable juice
1 cup diced tomato, about 1 large
2 teaspoons chopped garlic, about 2 cloves
2 ½ cups ½-inch cubes of watermelon
2 scallions, white part chopped, green for garnish
2 teaspoons chopped fresh Serrano or jalapeno chili pepper, seeded too
1 teaspoon salt, pepper to taste
Garnish:
Diced watermelon
½ avocado, diced
Hot chili pepper flakes, smoked paprika or Aleppo pepper
Lime wedges
Directions
- Place the tomato juice and other soup ingredients into a blender carafe. Blend on high only long enough to make a chunky mixture, barely a minute using my blender. Adjust the seasonings. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Divide between 6 chilled glasses. Garnish each with diced watermelon, diced avocado, hot pepper flakes and lime wedges.
