Tomato-Melon Gazpacho

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Tomato-Melon Gazpacho

4 tomatoes (about 11/2 pounds), peeled and seeded

One 3-pound cantaloupe

2 tablespoons olive oil

10 fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

 

 

 

1. Cut the tomato flesh into 1-inch chunks. Seed the melon and remove

the flesh from the rind; cut it into chunks. Put a tablespoon of olive

oil in each of two 10- or 12-inch skillets and turn the heat under

both to high (you can do this sequentially if you have only one

skillet). Add the melon to one skillet and the tomatoes to the other

and cook, stirring, until they become juicy, no longer than 2 minutes.

 

2. In a blender, puree the melon, tomato, 11/2 cups water or 1 cup

water plus 1/2 cup ice cubes, and the basil, along with some salt and

pepper. Chill, then add lemon juice to taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve.

 

Serves 4

Time: 20 minutes, plus time to chill

 

Source: " Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from The New York

Times " by Mark Bittman

 

Formatted by Chupa Babi in MC:05.22.07

 

AuthorNote: I like gazpacho, but the ultimate minimalist version —

take a few tomatoes, a red pepper, some onion, oil, and vinegar, and

whiz it in a blender — doesn’t always cut it for me. When I confessed

this to my friend and sometime co-author Jean-Georges Vongerichten, he

suggested I abandon tradition entirely and combine tomatoes with

another fruit of the season: cantaloupe. These, combined with basil

and lemon — in place of vinegar — produce the mildest, most delicious,

creamiest gazpacho I’ve ever tasted. Make sure to use ripe cantaloupe

and tomato at the height of the summer for the best results.

 

ChupaNote: yeah, but it really DOES need some red pepper flakes!!!

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