Chilled Melon Soup With Mojito Ice

Chilled melon soup with a tangy mint and lime infused mojito ice. A great way to cool off on a hot summer’s day.

I’ve been waiting all summer to rustle up this soup but the weather just wouldn’t play ball. We’re into september now and with the recent  spell of good weather I decided it was now or never.

It always seems to me that the minute autumn officially starts the sun decides to make an appearance. It didn’t turn out to be an indian summer, but the warm weather lasted a couple of days and the temperature rose enough for me to be able to make one of the simplest chilled soup recipes you’ll ever see.

All you need is one simple ingredient. A sweet, juicy, overly ripe melon. Peel it, remove the seeds, and whirl it up in a food processor…and voila a simple summer soup made in seconds. Just chill it for an hour or so and you have a light and refreshing way to start a meal.

The mojito ice is strictly optional but its a good way to give a beautiful citrusy edge to the soup. You could even crush it up so it dissolves a little quicker, infusing the soup with its tangy flavour. If you don’t have the time to make the ice than just add the mint and lime juice directly into the soup itself.

Back when I learned this handy recipe we’d serve it as an amuse bouche  in a shot glass with some pea sized pearls of ripe galia melon floating in the smooth, sweet melon juice.

So making this chilled melon soup again gave me the chance to get out a kitchen gadget I haven’t used in years. My trusty parisienne scoupe (aka melon baller)  has been lying neglected at the back of my kitchen drawer since the late 80’s when melon balls in creme de menthe went out of fashion. If you happen to have one then add a couple of perfectly rounded scoops of the soft melon flesh to the soup to give a bit of extra texture.

For my melon soup I used a galia melon (it was the ripest I could find down the market) But any variety of melon will do as long as it’s ripe. A watermelon is a good way to go too, you get a sweet soup with a beautiful red luminous colour.

These days they would probably call this a smoothie, but the first time I made it I don’t think the word was invented so I’m sticking with soup. if it’s still summer where you are this is a great way to cool off on a hot day.

What type of melon will you use?

Chilled Melon Soup With Mojito Ice

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: makes 1 pint or about 4 portions 1x

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Ingredients

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for the mojito ice

• 150ml / quarter pint lime juice
• 150ml / quarter pint water
• 25g / 1oz mint leaves

for the soup

• 1 large ripe galia melon

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Instructions

1. Mix the lime juice, water and mint leaves together.
2. Whizz up the lime juice mixture in a food processor till the mint is well blended with the lime juice and water.
3. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and pour it into an ice cube tray (this should give you about 10 blocks of mojito ice) Allow to freeze for a couple of hours while you make the soup.
4. To make the soup peel the melon and remove the seeds. Use a melon baller to scoop out about 20 rounds of sweet flesh to add to the soup later as a garnish.
5. Whizz up the rest of the melon in your food processor to a smooth puree and place it in the fridge for an hour or so to chill down.
6. To serve, pour the melon soup into 4 large glasses. Drop in some of the melon balls and a couple of blocks of the mojito Ice and garnish with sprigs of fresh mint.

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