Cold Cantaloupe Soup

Name: Cold Cantaloupe Soup
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 cantaloupe or other ripe, orange-fleshed melon, chilled, peeled and seeded; Juice of 1 lime; Salt to taste; 2 teaspoons good quality balsamic vinegar

By Florence Fabricant

Total Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(273)
Comments: Read comments

Cold cantaloupe soup has become a summer staple in my house, a quick and easy solution to the question of a first course at dinner. I have even served it in espresso cups for guests to sip with cocktails. All it takes is a ripe orange-fleshed melon, like a cantaloupe, or perhaps a musk melon from a farm stand.

I chill the melon, and when I’m ready to prepare the soup, I peel and seed it, then cut it into chunks. I find that if I start with a small amount of the chunks in the blender and process them until they are puréed, I can then add the rest gradually with no need for additional liquid. The juice of one lime and salt to taste are all I add, except for a final drizzle of my best balsamic vinegar on top. You can add mint leaves, cayenne or even a garnish of diced prosciutto or feta instead of the vinegar if you wish.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings

1cantaloupe or other ripe, orange-fleshed melon, chilled, peeled and seeded
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
2teaspoons good quality balsamic vinegar

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Cut cantaloupe in 1-inch chunks. Place about ¼ of them in a blender and process at high speed until puréed. Once you have a purée, gradually add remaining melon, processing until the mixture is smooth.
Step 2
Add lime juice and blend briefly. Season with salt to taste and blend again.
Step 3
Refrigerate until ready to serve, or serve at once. Divide soup among 6 soup plates and drizzle a little balsamic vinegar in a circular or squiggly pattern on top of each.

Ratings

4 out of 5

273 user ratings

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Comments

Gustus7 years ago

I definitely want to try this, but I wish the author had specified the size of the cantaloupe, either in weight or number of cups of chunks. In the south, summer cantaloupes can range from gigantic Athinas to "personal" sized Tuscans.

mjb7 years ago

I have often made variations on this. I add some ginger to spice it up. I also have done a mix of cantaloupe and watermelon. I find the lime and salt are essential. I have also made a big batch of this and freeze it.

Jsh7 years ago

I used three heaping cups of cantaloupe, juice of one lime (about 2.5-3 T) and one large pinch of kosher salt. Delicious!

esiegel9 months ago

I served myself a bowl of this, mixed in a tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt, added a drizzle of olive oil, and topped it off with some julienned basil and mint. Simple and excellent!

Marguerite10 months ago

I bought a beautiful Ohio melon the size of a cannonball that yielded a huge bowl of chunks. I went looking for recipes. Couldn’t be easier for such delicious results. Infinitely adaptable to whatever quantity of fruit you have. Just taste for salt and lime juice as you go. I added a touch of heavy cream at the end to add a bit more body.

Cea10 months ago

Added cucumber, because why not, and served with feta. Very refreshing. Can take extra lime.

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