I think I may have died and gone to heaven.
Not the kind of heaven where you get all your tax dollars back in a lump sum (because, all religion and politics aside, let’s face it: that would be awesome), but the kind where you’re surrounded by watermelon. How thrilled would you be if the reward for a lifetime of good deeds was towering cubes of juicy watermelon everywhere you turned for the rest of eternity? I think I would be pretty pumped. If I’m lucky, my tax dollars will be tucked in there somewhere, too.
Sigh… a girl can dream.
The main surprise here is that I even tried a new kind of gazpacho. Prior to this fabulousness, regular tomato gazpacho was the only flavor ever to grace my blender. My mistake, because I’ve been missing out big time! I was inspired to blend up this batch after enjoying a particularly delicious cup of watermelon gazpacho at a restaurant, and now I’m afraid this may turn into the Summer of Gazpacho. I mean, I can’t think of a single fruit or vegetable that wouldn’t taste delicious as part of a tomato-y chilled soup. Maybe that’s an exaggeration… I haven’t brainstormed very hard. But still, you get the picture: YUM.
I blended this gazpacho up as smooth as possible (you’ll be able to do even better if you have a high-speed blender!), strained it, then served it with slices of avocado and chunks of watermelon. The avocado adds creaminess (no dairy necessary!) and makes it feel more substantial, then the chunks of sweet watermelon just take it over the top. I can’t even describe the goodness that is a spoonful of slightly acidic gazpacho with a big juicy chunk of watermelon in it. Summer flavors in all their sweet, glorious perfection.
Also, how much fun is it to slurp pink soup? It makes me feel like a kid again. And isn’t that what heaven – I mean summer – is all about?
- 7 cups seedless diced watermelon, divided
- 2 avocados
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- 4 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 3 inner celery ribs, diced
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, plus extra for garnish
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp of each)
- Puree 5 cups watermelon in a high-speed blender and strain through a mesh strainer into a large bowl. In batches, puree 1 avocado, the cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, onion, garlic, and mint, and strain into the bowl with the watermelon. Discard any solids that won't strain through. (If you're having difficulty straining, you may want to combine all the ingredients before straining, or skip altogether.)
- Stir in lime juice and red wine vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. For best results, prepare a day ahead of time.
- To serve, garnish with slices of the leftover avocado, the remaining chunks of watermelon, and a few mint leaves. Enjoy!
I’ve always been so curious about mellon gazpachos! Considering I love all the food you post, I bet this is right up my alley. If Erica likes it, I bet I’d like it too! Let’s do this refreshing chilled soup thing! And get all our tax dollars back in one lump sum!
This is one purdy gazpacho! And yes, summer is all about slurping pink soup. ;)
When I posted the chilled asparagus soup last week someone made a comment about gazpacho so I made some this past weekend and I love it! I can imagine it is crazy delicious with watermelon and avocado.
So glad you’ve had gazpacho now! I tried another chilled soup that was a total bust, but your asparagus soup is still on the menu sometime soon :)
Watermelon gazpacho sounds like the most summery of summertime soups! This looks delish I will for sure be giving it a try. And I love those bowl too, super cute!!
I love both gazpacho and watermelon, so I can only imagine the two must taste great together! Yum. Can’t wait to try.
Also, have you tried approaching your congressperson with a proposal for legislation that would return everyone’s tax dollars to them? Don’t ask, don’t get :)
I think the only cold soup I’ve had was vichyssoise at a fancy restaurant a long time ago. I’ve never tried gazpacho, but this seems like a perfect place to start! Have to wait until tomatoes are in season again down here.
Also, I loved the first part of this post so much that I was reading it aloud to my boyfriend before going to bed last night.
Perfect :)
I would never have even thought to try watermelon in a chilled soup, what an interesting idea! The cool weather here at the moment means Im all about hot soup, but as soon as summer comes along I’ll have to try this pretty pink number :)
Erica, your watermelon gazpachos looks so refreshing and divine! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had gazpachos before, but I need to really get on this train!
This looks so beautiful! A must-try this summer!
Girl I think I just died and went to heaven looking at this recipe! There is a restaurant in our town that does a killer mellon gazpacho and I’ve always wanted to re-create it. Thanks for this recipe in advance!
My wife loves soup and all things pink. She’ll go crazy over this watermelon gazpacho. Thanks for sharing this.