Wow your family with a tasty burst summer melon!

Cantaloupe soup makes a fabulous opener to a grilled or BBQ menu of any kind OR as a light dessert (sub in any small scoop of citrus sorbet for the yogurt to up the wow factor). Plus, my version of cantaloupe soup is liquid enough to use as a base for a smashing summertime cocktail. 


SWEET CANTALOUPE SOUP


Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients

1 large or 2 small cantaloupe (we love Sugar Cube variety)

2 ounces no pulp orange or mango juice



Juice of 1 lime

1/2 ounce of orange liqueur (optional)

Greek-style yogurt, lime flavored (plain okay, too) 



Prep:

Peel and seed cantaloupe, reserve seeds and set aside. 


Cut cantaloupe into small chunks. Set aside a few small cubes for garnish (or before chunking, scoop a few melon balls). Place about 1/2 of them into a blender or mini-prep processor and process at high speed until finely chopped. Once you have a pulpy purée, gradually add remaining melon, processing until the mixture is liquid but not quite smooth.


Strain seeds then pulp with a fine mesh strainer into any container to make a broth-like base for your cold soup. Use a wooden spoon to press out as much juice as possible. Add orange juice. Refrigerate broth and garnish separately until ready to serve.


Just before serving: 

Stir in lime juice and optional liqueur. Divide soup among shallow rim soup plates. For an extra tongue tingle, pour a splash of lime flavored seltzer. Drop a rounded teaspoon of yogurt in the center, add garnish and enjoy!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grape Infused Vodka Update

Image
It took an overnight frost for our homegrown grapes to sweeten up but the wait was worth it. A big sloppy thank you smooch goes out to Mayor Mike Tautznik of Easthampton, MA for sharing his home infusion method for fruit flavored vodka. Fiddling around with Mayor Mike's sure-fire recipe helped me come up with the perfect formula for home infusing store-bought vodka with the Concord grapes from our backyard garden. And the abundance of those grapes carefully cultivated by the Man of the House deserves another big sloppy thank you smooch, this time for Farmer Paul. Start by boiling a big pot of water to sterilize pint-sized canning jars and their covers. Once they are cool, fill each about 3/4 full with thoroughly washed Concord grapes plucked from the ripest of bunches. Add one teaspoon of super fine sugar. Pour your choice of plain vodka over the grapes, leaving about 1/2 inch headroom before closing the jars. Shake gently to dissolve sugar before storing in a cool dark spot. Two w...
Read more

A Perfect Sunday Supper

Image
Nearly everyone has a favorite pot roast recipe. Pot roast begs for inspiration from the cook, roasted red peppers can be a delightful addition. Try mushrooms or whole green beans for a different twist. Choosing the spices can be daunting, bay leaf or thyme, coriander or clove? Some recipes call for tomatoes, others for a brown gravy base. I even saw a barbecue style pot roast recipe recently; not to mention the cut of beef. There’s brisket, chuck, rump roast, to name a few. Over thirty plus years of home cooking successes and disasters, I’ve tried many different pot roast recipes but always go back to page 127 of the Silver Palate Cookbook for the best and simplest example of “A perfect Sunday supper.” I follow the recipe closely though not exactly -- you might like my slightly fiddled with version. Starting with the basics is a good start but no excuse for boring – add your own special flair! PEPPERCORN POT ROAST 3 pound boneless chuck roast 1 teaspoon fresh coarsely ground black pe...
Read more

The Joy of Holiday Cookies

Image
Nothing sweetens the season like holiday cookies! The name comes from the Dutch koejke which translates to "little cake" -- the perfect single serving treat. Cookies have been part of cooking history for more than a thousand years and nearly every culture has a bite sized sweet that qualifies as a cookie. Every year I try to come up with a new twist on an old favorite to celebrate the season for my annual cookie swap. These tasty morsels are my version of rugelach , a traditional Jewish pastry filled with nuts, raisins or apricots, cinnamon and sugar wrapped in a flaky crust. A few good friends sharing a bottle of bubbly then going home with the bounty of a platter full of homemade cookies and the recipes. Lots of fun and yumminess, too! RUGELACH Dough 2 cups all-purpose flour Dash of salt 1 tablespoon white sugar 1 cup unsalted butter 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1/3 cup plain or lemon flavored yogurt Filling 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 cup finely...
Read more