It seems I brought the heat with me back from Cuba — at least to Los Angeles. For the past 48 hours, it’s been blazing hot here with temperatures north of 90°F and it’s made me so lazy I can barely lift a finger, never mind cook. But in an effort to eat fresh and clean after a week of travel and eating out, I’m on a mission to cook lots of veggies. Enter this Spicy Watermelon Gazpacho from Tess Master’s cookbook, The Blender Girl.
If you don’t already know Tess, you should because she’s a doll and her new cookbook is full of simple recipes that are often vegan and gluten-free. As her name implies, all the recipes are made with the help of the blender, but, despite what you might think, the appliance makes things easier not harder. Like in the case of this Spicy Watermelon Gazpacho where the hardest thing you’ll have to do is be patient enough to wait for it to cool!
Now, go stock up on all your cooking essentials, then head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us by tagging @saltandwind and #swsociety on social!
Spicy Watermelon Gazpacho Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups roughly chopped seedless watermelon plus 6 cups diced
- 2 cups diced tomato
- 1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped basil
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped mint
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon minced green serrano chile plus more to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon natural salt plus more to taste
- Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put the 4 cups of chopped watermelon into your blender and purée on high for 30 to 60 seconds, until liquefied. Pour into a serving bowl. Add the 6 cups of diced watermelon and all the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine well. Tweak flavors to taste (you may want more onion, lime juice, chile, or salt).
- Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours to allow the flavors to fuse and the vibrant red color to develop. Before serving, tweak flavors again (if it's too spicy, add some lime juice). Pass additional lime juice and salt at the table.
