Watermelon Gazpacho w/ Avocado Relish

This is a great variation on a gazpacho that comes out a touch sweeter and smoother than most gazpacho's I've made. While I do add a touch of acid to this soup, it really relies on the sweetness of the watermelon to round out the flavor. Add a touch of peppery hot sauce, like Tapatio, and you've got a sweet, spicy, and refreshing soup to enjoy in the dog days of summer.

I recently used a variation of this soup on the National Mall when we did all food service for the 2022 Folk Life Festival. One of the themes was environmentally sustainable food, and this is a great example of a soup that embodies that concept. Becuasse you can make gazpacho from many ingredients, frequently the scraps of vegetables that are left over, it is a great way to reduce food waste while making an awesomely flavored soup.

As with most of my soups you can change the quantities of the ingredients to make it more to your liking. I found that this was a well balanced and full flavored version, I just added a touch more hot sauce when I served it.

The garnish of this was a simple avocado and red onion relish which I tossed in oil, lemon juice, mint leaves, and a touch of salt.

Enjoy,

---

---

Ingredients

• Mini Watermelons 1/2 ea, around 1 lb

• Tomatoes 4 ea

• Onion 1/2 ea

• Lemon Juice to taste, plus garnish

• Mint 2 T, plus garnish

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 T, plus garnish

• Tapatio 3 T

• Salt to taste

• Pepper to taste

Garnish

Avocado Relish (avocado, red onion, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt)

Method of Procedure

1. Bring a pot of water, large enough to fit all your tomatoes, to a boil.

2. Core your tomatoes and once the water is boils blanche your tomatoes for about 45 seconds to loosen the skin.

3. Shock in ice water and peel, then seed your tomatoes.

4. Cut the rind off your watermelon and either discard, or reserve for pickling.

5. Chop all of your ingredients roughly and add to a large mixing bowl.

6. Season with oil, salt, pepper, Tapatio, and lemon juice and mix.

7. Let stand for about 20 minutes.

8. Mix once more and then process through a food processor pureeing until smooth.

9. Season to taste and serve.