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Watermelon Gazpacho
This fun twist on gazpacho comes from one of my favorite new cookbook finds, Juice Manifesto: More than 120 Flavor-Packed Juices, Smoothies and Healthful Meals for the Whole Family by Andrew Cooper (Chronicle Books, 2016). Andrew is the co-founder of the Juiceman line of juices, but you might recall him as the lawn-mowing heartthrob from the viral “Diet Coke guy” commercial. (I know I remember him from that 😉.) His book is chockfull of healthy, easy recipes for juices, smoothies, snacks, and more that make you want to clean out your pantry and eat healthfully forever. About this recipe, he writes, “I love gazpacho – this is a bit of a different take on it, but it works really nicely. The ginger and chile give it a bit of a kick, but you can put in as little or as much as you like.” For what it’s worth, I add even more; I love how the spice plays off the sweetness of the watermelon and acidity of the lime.
To begin, set aside 3-4 cubes of watermelon, a couple of celery pieces, and a few leaves of basil to use as a garnish for the soup.
Put the remaining ingredients into a blender (if you run out of room, blend the vegetables for a few seconds to make more space for the other ingredients). Then pulse until it reaches a soup-like consistency.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary, then chill the gazpacho in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Serve in bowls or glasses topped with finely chopped watermelon, celery and basil.
Watermelon Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 3 cups cubed watermelon (1-inch cubes)
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1/2 English/hothouse cucumber, roughly chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, roughly chopped
- 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 a red chile pepper
- Juice of 2 limes
- Handful fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Set aside 3-4 cubes of watermelon, a couple of celery pieces, and a few leaves of basil to use as a garnish for the soup.
- Put the remaining ingredients into a blender (if you run out of room, blend the vegetables for a few seconds to make more space for the other ingredients). Pulse until it reaches a soup-like consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Chill in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Finely chop the reserved watermelon, celery and basil. Pour the gazpacho into bowls or glasses and top with garnishes.
- Note: If you touch the seeds of the chile pepper, just be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 90
- Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Sugar: 14 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 31 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is some good soup! I added a shallot, used half sweet half thai basil, and instead of a chili pepper, I used Gochujang (Koren fermented hot chili paste). Love it!!
Hi! Can I use dry chili red pepper instead?
Thanks!
Sure, Selma.
My guests and I love it. Wouldn’t change a thing.
This was the best gazpacho I’ve ever made! I loved the addition of the ginger and the red pepper. It added a nice slightly spicy, extra heat flavor to the watermelon and tomatoes. I used red wine vinegar instead of apple cider and it was fine. Thanks for another terrific, flavorful, easy recipe Jen!
This is easy and wonderful. My blender couldn’t handle all the ingredients, so I switched to my food processor. Perfect! This is the best gazpacho I’ve ever had. Thank you, Jenn!
What vegetarian main dish could you make with this (but not pizza)?
Hi Sandy, I think this would be good with grilled tenderloin, flank steak, Peruvian chicken, tequila lime grilled chicken, or grilled cheese. Hope that helps!
Great, and what about a vegetarian suggestion 🙂
The grilled cheese with sun-dried pesto would work, or what about a frittata or pasta?
Do you think this could be done in a food processor?
Sure, Maggie, that should work. Enjoy!
This is a really easy soup once the chopping is done. Excellent naturally sweet except I screwed up by using 1/2 of a Serrano Chili Pepper (Seeded). The end result was hellishly hot, in fact almost inedible. I’ve never made Gazpacho without blanching the skin of the Tomatoes.There was no Worcestershire sauce, but it came together and I will try again. You might describe the chili in a bit more detail. But next time I will use a lesser heat chili or perhaps none at all.
Loved this soup. Delicous. Instead sof hot peppers I put a few shakes of Sriracha. Will make it again soon. Thanks for all your Delicous receipes.
Hi! This was wonderful! So perfect before true tomato season in the northeast when I live to make tomato gazpacho!
Question. My husband is allergic to raw celery! So crazy but true. Is there a substitute you could recommend? I was thinking raw fennel?
Thank you; and I love your newsletter. I make everything and try very hard to give you the credit…..
Glad you liked it, Maureen! I’d recommend fennel (as you suggested), jicama or water chestnuts. All three are mild tasting and you’ll still get the crunch in the garnish.
I tried this recipe in Ramazan this time and people requested me to make this one on Eid too. This is so great and beautiful. Everyone loves it.
Could you freeze this?
Hi Nan, Unfortunately, I don’t think this soup would freeze well. Sorry!
Do you know what variety of pepper you used?
Hi Judy, I believe it was a jalapeno. (It was not terribly spicy.) Hope you enjoy!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious!!! Super easy and low calorie too. As a bonus Weight Watchers 0 points!
Love watermelon gazpacho but have had really poor luck with other recipes. This one seems more promising. But I am curious, about making over 4th of July at our family’s cabin which has limited electrical voltage/ampacity(?). Do you think a high powered blender is a must with this or would a lower powered immersion blender be alright? ( I’m ok with a chunkier result. )
Hi Maria, I definitely think you could get away with an immersion blender for this recipe – this gazpacho is good with a little texture.
I would love to try this, but my daughter is allergic to apples and therefore I can not use apple cider vinegar. What could I use as a substitute? Thank you!
Hi Kim, White/red wine vinegar or rice vinegar would all work well.
Hi Jen! Do you think the gazpacho would still be okay after ~10 hours before eating (like if I made it before work and had it for dinner), or should it be eaten within 3-4 hours? Thanks in advance!
Hi Christi, I think it’d still be okay after about 10 hours – you’ll just need to stir it well.
This was great. We had leftovers the next day and surprisingly it didn’t need stirring. The flavor was even better the next day too.
Good to know, Dianne– Thanks!