Did you know that cantaloupe and ginger pair well together? I didn’t, but I do now!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about chilled soups. I like to eat them, but for some reason I’ve never made one for myself. I keep buying vegetables thinking I’m going to throw them into my fancy new blender and create some amazing new soup, but then I forget and use the vegetables for other things. The most recent example is celery. I was thinking about making a light cream of celery soup and chilling it. But then I had this bizarre celery craving and literally ate the entire bunch of celery in two sittings. Yes, there was homemade blue cheese dressing involved, so perhaps that had something to do with it. Regardless, the celery was gone and I had no soup.
So when I heard on twitter that another virtual lunch was planned, this time centered around chilled soups, I knew I had to jump in. Do you remember our virtual BLT Lunch from a while back? Well, the usual suspects are at it again today. Cheryl, who resides in New York, is today writing from Singapore about her Mum’s Green Bean Soup Recipe, while Ellise writes from Paris about Zucchini-Cilantro Soup. And of course there are many more.
My original plan was to create a cucumber cantaloupe soup with fresh ginger and mint. But, as you might have guessed, I accidentally used all my cucumber and mint making something else (tzatziki, to be exact). So when I remembered last night that I needed to create a soup for today’s lunch date, I didn’t have much to work with. But there was no need to worry, this ‘minimalist’ Cantaloupe Ginger soup is delicious and refreshing and I’m kind of glad that I didn’t add the extra ingredients.
I think this soup would work equally well as a starter or a dessert if you want to serve it in the evening. But today, it will be lunch. As with all of my recipes, this one should be customized to suit your own taste. I added a bit of half & half at the end and felt that it smoothed out the flavors nicely, but feel free to experiment and see what works for you.
Chilled Ginger Cantaloupe Soup
1 cantaloupe, seeded and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (or to taste)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon of honey (or to taste)
small pinch of salt
1/4 cup milk, half & half, or cream (optional)
Put cantaloupe, ginger, lemon juice and honey in a blender, and process until completely smooth. Add half & half (if using) and blend until combined. Taste and adjust amounts of honey, ginger or lemon juice if desired. Serve well chilled.
Yield: 2 servings
Other Chilled Soups from the ‘Let’s Lunch!’ Crew:
- White Gazpacho from Serve it Forth
- Chilled Poached Pear Soup from Blog Well Done
- Chilled Strawberry Soup from The Naptime Chef
Don’t forget to search Twitter for #LetsLunch to see what the rest of the group is bringing to the party! And I just have to tell you one more time: I love my blender!
Funny, I’m the opposite: I always have too many carrots, celery bunches, etc. around, and until I got my blender I used to throw them away a lot. Now I just make soup all the time and freeze it for later!
Cantaloupe and ginger, who would’ve guessed?
10:01 am Sep 4th, 2009I used to eat melons by the ton when I lived on the west coast. I once made a cantaloupe quick bread scented with ginger and loved it, so I believe this soup would be delicious.
10:07 am Sep 4th, 2009This sounds just amazing. I adore cantaloupe (and ginger!). Cucumber, too, for that matter. Reading this makes me sad that summer’s coming to an end this weekend. All the more reason to try this recipe real soon!
Btw, your photo was just gorgeous as always…kudos!
10:18 am Sep 4th, 2009This looks so delicious and refreshing! Perfect for the end of the summer bbq or gathering! Great job! Picture is spot on!!
10:21 am Sep 4th, 2009This sounds lovely. I always admire everyone else’s cold soups, but I never seem to make one for myself. (my hubby isn’t much for cold soup) Maybe I should change that! This looks tasty.
12:28 pm Sep 4th, 2009I would not have thought they go well together either. I wonder how it would be with honey dew? I like that much more than cataloupe.
12:48 pm Sep 4th, 2009how lovely,,,i think the addition of ginger might push me over the edge and make me a cold fruit soup lover! beautiful photo, too.
2:45 pm Sep 4th, 2009Loving this. In California the melons at the farmer’s markets are still varied and ripe, can’t wait to try this.
3:16 pm Sep 4th, 2009Yum, this is such a unique combination of flavors and what a great excuse for buying up more cantaloupes at the farmer’s markets (like we need any
).
3:47 pm Sep 4th, 2009I’ve been having good luck with melons lately; Think I’ll buy extra this weekend.
ps: I have blender envy.
4:14 pm Sep 4th, 2009this looks so elegant and delicious!
9:17 pm Sep 4th, 2009I’ve always wanted to make chilled soup. Maybe one day, with these inspirational recipes, I will!
6:57 am Sep 5th, 2009When I fist heard the title is sounded great, but I wouldn’t of thought to put the two together. I love ginger and try to add it to many things without the family saying “enough already”. I’m not big on chilled soups, but I am going to make this one for sure!
8:20 am Sep 5th, 2009I love these kinds of cooking stories, mistakes, circumstances that create new ideas!
8:57 pm Sep 5th, 2009Aren’t new blenders fab? I have one, too, and I’ve got that thing whirring all the time. This soup looks simply dreamy. In fact, it kind of looks like a dreamsicle…but better. I love love cantaloupe, and with ginger, this sounds just marvelous.
11:45 pm Sep 5th, 2009[...] I highly recommend trying it sometime. We had it along side a bowl of Nicole Hamaker’s Chilled Ginger Cantaloupe Soup which was seriously [...]
3:08 pm Sep 6th, 2009Love the flavors in the soup, looks so inviting!
8:58 am Sep 7th, 2009Chilled soups are such a great idea in the summer! This recipe for a chilled melon soup sounds fabulous. Looks fresh and healthy.
6:40 pm Sep 7th, 2009Looks so refreshing!
9:59 pm Sep 7th, 2009I made this yesterday! It was really GOOD. I could drink it like a smoothie. I def need to try honey dew next time.
7:49 am Sep 8th, 2009I think I was a little heavy on the ginger because the first taste was mellow but once it sat for a bit it got very gingery! But the flavors were fantastic together.
I don’t think I’ve Ever had a chilled soup before, but this looks like a good one to break the ice (I mean chill) with
3:19 pm Sep 8th, 2009I still haven’t tried fruit soup, but this looks pretty good I must admit!
7:56 pm Sep 8th, 2009That sounds really good. I always enjoy hearing about unique recipes that other come up with. If anyone is interested in some new blender recipes or submitting their own please visit http://www.blenderwizard.com!
10:40 am Sep 21st, 2009[...] Chilled Soup Lunch [...]
11:18 am Jan 9th, 2010