Watermelon Soup

Mini watermelons were on sale for a dollar, and it's still hot out.  Plus, after my last batch of cantaloupe soup, I was really in the mood for something fruity to go with a Mexican night.

Because I decided to throw in a cucumber, this soup starts to verge into the realm of watermelon gazpacho, which is just subbing in watermelon for the bell peppers and half of the tomatoes.

What I didn't realize until I cut it open was that it was a yellow watermelon.  They taste just the same as the red ones.  It was just a surprise, and I wouldn't use one for a party because it would be hard to convince guests to try it.

That is, unless you add alcohol to it.  This soup purées very smooth, and can easily be a base for margaritas or daiquiris.  Garnish with some fruit on a toothpick and you can get a lot of them out of one watermelon!

1 mini, or "personal" watermelon
1 large cucumber
2 limes
1/4 tsp salt

1.  Peel watermelon and cucumber.  Chop into 1" chunks.  Juice limes.  If desired, save peel for garnish.

2.  Working in batches, purée everything in the blender.  What I found worked best was to put the juice of one lime and a big handful of watermelon in first.  Once that is liquid, you can get half the watermelon and cucumber in that batch.  If spiking, put in half of the alcohol to whip with the fruit.  Repeat.

3.  Chill until ready to serve.  A double batch (or a full-sized melon) would fill a punch bowl.  You can make it fizzy with sparkling water, but I would recommend adding a little simple syrup to counteract the bitterness.

4.  Serve very cold.  Garnish with pieces of fruit, mint, ginger, cinnamon, lime zest, or whatever goes with your meal.

Serves 6 as a soup, 12 as a drink

Difficulty rating  π