At first bite the flavor of this smooth tomato soup seems to be reminiscent of gazpacho. But it takes on an Asian twist when you discover the melon garnish. It’s a surprising and beautiful dish.
Cold Tomato Soup with Cucumber and Cantaloupe
Print This Recipe Yield 4Source Jean-Georges VongerichtenPublishedserves 4
Ingredients
- 2 pound tomatoes
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 6 whole basil leaves, or some fennel fronds plus small sprigs, for garnish
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper
- 1 cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and chopped into tiny uniform dice
- ¼ cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and chopped into tiny uniform dice
- ½ cup water
Directions
Working over a bowl core the tomatoes and chop them roughly, combining them in a saucepan with their seeds and collected juice. Add the garlic, basil or fennel leaves, oil, vinegar and sugar, a big pinch of salt, about ¼ teaspoon black pepper and the water. Heat to 150 degrees F, hot but well below boiling. we want to keep the fresh taste of the tomatoes.
Remove the pan from the heat once the temperature is achieved. Then strain the mixture through a not too fine-meshed sieve, use the back of a wooden spoon to push some of the pulp through. You just to remove skins, seeds and basil leaves. Cool over a bowl of ice water, or in the refrigerator. Taste and adjust seasonings.
When you are ready to eat, divide the small dice of cucumber and melon among 4 bowls and pour the chilled soup over them. Garnish with basil and serve.
Hope you get well soon and that in a near future you can enjoy a churrasco at the nearest churrascaria in town!
Wow, great 24 post. Though I can’t believe you bought and prepared all that delicious food and couldn’t enjoy any of it! Talk about torturing yourself! You certainly are a dedicated blogger and friend 🙂
Around the world with tons of food. Thanks for the culinary trip!
Very cool 24 post! Great food picks to represent all of the continents!
You really pulled off the concept nicely!
Great ideas for a fun theme. I was wondering what you’d serve for Antarctica. Penguin food sounds good to me. And, those macarons are gorgeous!
You have been on a roll lately with these 24 contests! I’m so happy that you had the chance to do another one and you impressed, as always!
Eric
This is so great and I wish I could’ve been there! I have seen borek in kosher food shops that are either meat or cheese filling wrapped in filo or some kind of dough, not open faced, but I’d rather have those pizzas that you served. And the sushi as penguin food is a total riot!
I hope that the jaw is healing nicely and faster than expected!
…love the farmers market tour! Congrats on the FB 24,24,24 blog!
Hi there,
that’s no borek, that’s pide. Whoever calls it borek is totally on the wrong, a borek is made with yufka dough and has a flaky, buttery consistency. That pide on the other hand has a yeast dough base. And a Turkish pizza…while that’s on a yeast dough base too, it’s way thinner and round and usually topped with a spicy minced meat mix and called lahmacun. Sorry for being a faultfinder 🙂
É.
Elena
To be perfectly accurate pide is the Turkish word for pitta bread. Once it is topped with ingredients it is then referred to as pedeh. Lahmajune is a finely ground beef version with onions and spices. It can be round or oval and usually has a crisp crust. It is given the silly name of Turkish pizza in America. I prefer the spelling lahmacun because it is closest to the actual pronunciation. Thank you, Agah.
Sory to hear about your broken jaw, Greg.
But you sure have the spirit of having fun, thinking positively, making the most out of the situation, and very resourceful thinking. What a great idea to go to the market where you need to find parking only once!
Hope your jaw heals fast.
Glad to hear you were able to pull this off. Bravo!
You always have the best ideas! I wish I was in LA and could go to the Farmer’s Market. Enjoy those cultures, very cool!
awesome article for the food buzz event! those pizzas are making me really hungry, I want a slice :-p
What a fun read, and yes, this is definitely a much better idea than Seven Flavors of Ensure.
I’d be mowing my way through those macaroons, they have to be one of my favorite nibbles and I’d want to make sure I sampled all the flavors. As for your selection to represent each continent — Brilliant I say. What a lot of fun and what lucky friends to participate in this party.
Nicely done!!!! I haven’t been down to the LA Farmer’s Market in such a long time. I miss the awesome food there.
I miss the gumbo and po’boy from the gumbo pot! Though, I’d love some of those macaroons right now.
I love eating macarons. I haven’t passed the “making macarons” phase but I definitely will at some point. I love the colorful tray of macarons that you have. It looks so beautiful
I’m very envious of your pide. I went to Turkey a couple years ago and fell in love with the food. Turkish breakfast was my favorite- fresh tomatoes, olives, boiled egg, cucumber, soft cheeses, bread and cay. I’d have a borek or pide (they’re not the same thing) or giro for lunch, and don’t get me started with supper… this was two years ago and I’m still dreaming of the manti (mantuh).
Your pictures definitely transported me back to Istanbul, and around the globe… I’m also envious of your tortillas and the churrascuro.
What a great party! I loved the whole concept and menu (especially those mid-eastern pizzas) but what I loved most was the visual of your friends in the pool jumping up and clapping for sushi! P.S. You’re very lucky to have such a great market nearby. I’m off to give you a buzz.
How about Krill? Nothing says Antarctica like a little Krill Scampi or krill on the barbie.
…I think I’d have been clapping my hands and maybe belly-flopping! Actually, you could have just dropped me off at the original farmers market and I’d have been clapping my hands too 🙂