Tomato-Watermelon Gazpacho

In keeping with the theme of light courses designed for beating the summer heat, I present one of the strangest watermelon gazpacho recipes I've ever encountered. This tomato-watermelon gazpacho from Magic Soup is an unusual gazpacho for several reasons: 1) it's not a traditional tomato-based gazpacho, 2) it is a watermelon gazpacho that has tomato juice (rather than the fruit) in it, 3) the recipe also calls for Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce, thus the recipe begins to resemble an odd Bloody Mary, and 4) the header insists on the inclusion of passion fruit.

All told, I was rather fascinated with this recipe, and have been hunting passion fruit in all my local markets for weeks. Sadly, none of them carry it even though it's currently in season - not even the Produce Wonderland that is Whole Foods. In the end, I opted to use ⅓ of a mango to approximate the tropical fruit flavor from the passion fruit. If you're able to locate passion fruit, please try this recipe and let me know what you think! Meanwhile, I'll keep looking...

Another aspect of this tomato-watermelon gazpacho recipe that drew my attention was how simple it seemed to throw it together. I have another watermelon gazpacho recipe that is also lovely and refreshing and is somewhat more traditional, however it requires a lot more prep time because of all the vegetables you need to peel, dice, and measure. In contrast, this soup takes only 15 minutes to prepare, including chopping time.Making tomato-watermelon gazpacho is incredibly easy. Quickly peel and chop your shallot, slice the red pepper, and saute them lightly while you cut up the watermelon. Puree the watermelon and your red pepper and shallot should be softened. Let them cool while you measure out everything else that's necessary. If you cannot find passion fruit and don't have mango, I would recommend adding about ⅓ of an English cucumber to this gazpacho, although the final flavor will be less tropical and a bit more traditional. Finally, you simply blend everything together to get a puree. Taste the gazpacho and add a touch more salt and pepper to your taste. As with most cold soups, this one needs to chill for several hours to enable the flavors to meld together. It won't be bad if you eat it immediately, but it won't be as refreshingly cold nor will the flavors be quite as complex as they can be.

I cut down on the amount of tomato I added to this tomato-watermelon gazpacho, from the original 2 cups down to 1 cup. I certainly can taste the tomato, but it doesn't overwhelm the watermelon like I feared it would had I used 2 full cups of tomato juice. To further stray from the resemblance to a Bloody Mary, I used a light mango habanero hot sauce instead of the Tabasco. Happily, this soup does not taste like you're drinking a Bloody Mary, although it would probably make a fantastic drink chilled with some vodka as a refreshing summer beverage.

In a similar vein, this gazpacho makes a fantastic slushy, which is one of the major advantages of pureeing a soup like this. Simply pour half the gazpacho onto a flat, rimmed baking sheet and freeze for thirty minutes. As you would with granita, scrape the icy gazpacho back and forth across the pan, moving the center to the edges and the edges to the center. Return it to the freezer for another thirty minutes. Repeat one more time. Serve in bowls to yourself and your guests, combining a half portion of the granita gazpacho and a half portion of the refrigerated gazpacho.

Original source: Magic Soup

Tomato-Watermelon Gazpacho

A light, summer-y soup that's a fresh take on the standard gazpacho.

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

Chilling time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 -4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper sliced into thin strips
• 1 shallot sliced
• 1.7 lb (27.6 oz) watermelon, chopped into chunks and deseeded , approximately one-quarter of a melon
• 1 cup tomato juice*
• 5 drops Tabasco**
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce***
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 passion fruit juice and seeds scooped out****
• flaky sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat (3/10 on my stovetop). Add the pepper and shallot, cook until softened, about 5-10 minutes. Let cool briefly.
• Meanwhile, add the watermelon to a blender along with the tomato juice, puree.
• Add the remaining ingredients, season with about ¼ teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Blend to a smooth consistency. Adjust seasoning to taste.
• Chill at least 3 hours before serving.

Notes

*In place of tomato juice, use ¼ cup diced or pureed tomatoes and ¾ cup water.
**In place of Tabasco, I suggest using a mango habanero hot sauce if available.
***Several brands offer a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce if desired.
****I was unable to find passion fruit for this recipe, despite this being the right season for fresh passion fruit. Instead, I added 82 g of fresh mango chunks (frozen would also be fine). This is about ⅓ of a regular mango.

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