Chilled soup to absolutely try – Watermelon and tomato gazpacho with goat cheese and basil

Soupe glacée à essayer absolument – Gaspacho de pastèque et tomates au chèvre et basilic

Una zuppa fredda da fare assolutamente – Gaspacho d’anguria con pomodori, formaggio di capra e basilico

If you like regular gazpacho, you’ll like this one too. I promise. At first, when I heard a friend had a wonderful soup in a restaurant in Paris, a watermelon soup with goat cheese, I was all curious about it but did not ask too many questions since that was not the point of the conversation. After thinking about it, I figured it would obviously something cold, somehow similar to gaspacho but I was a little concerned about the watermelon sweetness. 

The other ingredient that would definitely go in this soup, was basil. I have this pot of basil almost ready to die on the balcony, so I decided to use the leaves that were still green and in shape. I don’t know why but anytime I buy a pot of basil, it does not last long, two weeks at best. It sits on the balcony with great sun exposure, I water it almost every day, and it just dies. Unfortunately, it seems like I am not a great gardener, in French we say ne pas avoir la main verte, literally translated by “not to have a green hand”. Even with the best of my intentions, plants die around me. 

The watermelon is a wonderful fruit perfect for those who want to keep their weight down, refreshing and summery, it reminds me of my Italian vacations growing up, where trucks filled with huge oval watermelons were sitting along the roads leading to the beach. I think we tend to forget how delicious and refreshing watermelon can be, and even if we privilege other fruits during summer, let’s not forget to add it in our diet. 

This soup tends to be a little on the sweet side, but enhanced with balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and goat cheese, it is “THE” summer soup and you need to try it. Make sure to chill it well, the chiller, the better.

Ingredients for 4

• 1/2 medium size watermelon (seedless)
• 3 tomatoes, seedless, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 2 cups vegetable broth or more as needed
• 1 tbs chopped basil
• 4 slices goat cheese
• hot chili pepper powder
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Cut watermelon in cubes. Add tomatoes and all other ingredients except for the goat cheese. Let marinate for about one hour. Blend the mixture, and add a slice of goat cheese in the middle. Grind black fresh pepper on top.

Serve very chilled.