It’s cool, green and as refreshing as sea spray on a blistering summer day, and I would call it gazpacho, but I don’t want to offend those purists out there. So I’ll just say that this chilled soup is filled with all that’s perfect right now: tomatoes, peppers and melon for a twist on an old favorite. The best part is that this recipe requires minimal effort, which is exactly what you want in the dog days of summer.
Everything gets a rough chop, tossed into the blender and infused with sherry vinegar and a generous glug of olive oil. After a brief spin, you’ll have a creamy, delicate soup reminiscent of sea foam.
For garnish, cut some reserved melon into dainty cubes and serve with a final flourish of olive oil and a little flaky salt.
Green (Not) Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1 medium canary melon (at least one pound), peel removed, seeded and roughly chopped. Reserve about one cup for garnish. If canary melon is unavailable, honeydew can be used. See note below on peeling melon.
- 1 lb. green zebra tomatoes or other variety of ripe green tomatoes
- 3 oz. cubanelle pepper aka Italian frying pepper, chopped About one medium size pepper, or one cup chopped pepper.
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 tbsp. chopped scallion, white and light green parts only
- 1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra for final drizzling
- 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- flaky salt, such as Maldon for garnish, to taste
Instructions
- Place melon, tomatoes, peppers and scallions in a blender, and puree until smooth. You made need to stop once or twice to scrape down the sides of the blender to ensure everything is uniformly blended.
- Keep the blender on and add the vinegar and kosher salt, then slowly stream in the olive oil. Keep blending until it becomes pale and frothy. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Pour into a bowl, large Mason jar or other vessel and chill for several hours.
- Garnish with reserved melon, olive oil and flaky salt before serving.
Notes
To peel melon: cut ends off melon and then cut in half crosswise (you can scoop out the seeds at this point).
Flip the melon onto its cut side. Using a sharp knife, “shave” off the peel and tough rind by following the shape of the melon from the narrow top to the cut side.
