NEW RSS feed! | Sun 08.03.08 |
Watermelon Gazpacho |
August 3rd is National Watermelon Day!
Hands down, I think this is the best time of the year. The days have been long and sunny, and the weather nice and hot, just as summer should be. And while this means I usually arrive to work with a bit of a sweat, I think that's more than a fair trade for another product of all that sun and heat: sweeter tomatoes and watermelon.
Ok, gazpacho. A lot of people seem to equate gazpacho with tomato soup, served ice cold, and made by basically taking pico de gallo one step further in a blender. And while I agree that can be plenty tasty, such a limited view of gazpacho misses out on a lot of other plenty tasty versions, including those that more closely resemble the original Spanish soup.
Gazpacho was originally a cold soup of water and olive oil thickened with bread, and flavored with vinegar and garlic. It predates the European discovery of the Americas, and hence of the tomato. Since cold soups make more sense in the summer, when tomatoes are good and plentiful, their addition is sensible but not altogether obligatory. What are essential, in my opinion at least, are the bread, olive oil, vinegar and garlic.
The watermelon gazpacho was the third batch I've made so far this summer, after one with almonds and honeydew and another with cucumber and tomato. It's quickly becoming one of my favorites, as it's a nice balance of sweetness from the watermelon and tomatoes, tartness from the sherry vinegar, spiciness from the garlic, and fruitiness from the olive oil.
And finally, in honor of today being National Watermelon Day, I present to you Washington's own Petey Greene, on how to eat a watermelon. In all seriousness, folks, can we stop putting vodka in our melons? Seriously.
Watermelon Gazpacho
1/4 of a small watermelon, about 3 cups chopped up
1 tomato
1 cucumber
2 shallots
2 serrano chiles
3 cloves garlic
1 handful cilantro
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 cup bread, torn up
1/4 cup olive oil
In a shallow bowl, let the bread soak in a little water or milk while you roughly chop up the watermelon, tomato, cucumber, shallots, chilies and cilantro. With a blender, hand blender, or food processor, puree the chopped vegetables with the bread (squeeze to remove the excess liquid), vinegar, and garlic. With the machine running, stream in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper (and maybe some paprika).
Chill and serve drizzled with more oil and topped with thin slices of the remaining watermelon and bread.
1/4 of a small watermelon, about 3 cups chopped up
1 tomato
1 cucumber
2 shallots
2 serrano chiles
3 cloves garlic
1 handful cilantro
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 cup bread, torn up
1/4 cup olive oil
In a shallow bowl, let the bread soak in a little water or milk while you roughly chop up the watermelon, tomato, cucumber, shallots, chilies and cilantro. With a blender, hand blender, or food processor, puree the chopped vegetables with the bread (squeeze to remove the excess liquid), vinegar, and garlic. With the machine running, stream in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper (and maybe some paprika).
Chill and serve drizzled with more oil and topped with thin slices of the remaining watermelon and bread.
