Advertisement

Cold Cantaloupe Soup

By Florence Fabricant

Cold Cantaloupe Soup
Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(296)
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.

Featured in: A Childhood Obsession Leads to a Cereal Bar at Kith

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

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
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

39 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 261 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. 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.

  2. Step 2

    Add lime juice and blend briefly. Season with salt to taste and blend again.

  3. 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.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
296 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

mjb

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.

Gustus

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.

Jsh

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

Laura

We enjoyed this but it was more like juice than soup for us. Especially since we happened to be eating it with tacos and quesadillas, it felt like agua fesca de melon. The balsamic was a nice touch.

Viv

@Roberto googled ir, made it. divine! thanks foe the suggestion.

Helen

Love this! I used fig balsamic vinegar for the finish.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.