Chilled Cucumber Melon Soup

While I do love fall weather, I’m not quite ready to give up the summer yet. I have a couple of summery recipes to share with you before I get into stew/squash/casserole mode.

Chilled Cucumber Melon Soup

• 4-pound honeydew melon, seeds removed, cut in large chunks
• 1 medium cucumber (1/2 pound), peeled and cut in large chunks
• zest of 1 medium lemon (~2 teaspoons)
• juice of 1 medium lemon (~3 tablespoons)
• salt
• 3/4 cup radishes cut in matchsticks (5-6 large radishes)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots (optional)

1. Place the melon, cucumber, lemon zest and juice, and a small pinch of salt in a blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into a large bowl or tupperware and place in the refrigerator to chill.
2. To serve, pour about 1 cup of soup into a low bowl. Divide radishes, and shallots if using, by how many servings you need. Place in a mound in the middle of the soup.

Serves 4-6

I think this would be a great starter course. It’s very light. Don’t forget to chill your bowls too.

I went back and forth about the shallots, which is why I made them optional. The soup is pretty mild, so the shallots can kind of overwhelm the other flavors. Some people will probably appreciate their pungency though.