I hadn’t planned to post this Spicy Melon Soup just now. But it was such a pretty color I took its picture anyway. That was the same day as my last post on Smoky Gazpacho. But something happened that I didn’t expect, so I decided to post this chilled summer soup on the heels of a gazpacho post with quite a few similarities. Not something I would normally do.
I did it because it’s been years since I’ve gotten hate mail on this blog. I didn’t know trolls still existed, but Smoky Gazpacho received 2 nasty comments. I can’t quite decide if that’s progress or regress. After all, back in the ‘glory days’ of this little blog I was regularly ‘chewed’ out by a few particular (recurring) readers. I quit posting comments with no redeeming value and my haters soon went away. But I have to admit, it was fun to be so reviled for what I ate (and who I slept with).
So today I’m posting this Spicy Melon Soup just to stick it to the throwbacks who thought I took too many liberties in my last gazpacho post. I acknowledge that to many people gazpacho is much more than a chilled soup. I acknowledge that it has a long, proud Andalusian history. And I acknowledge that there are other chilled Spanish summer soups, such as Salmorejo, that most Andalusians would never refer to as gazpacho (because it has both meat and a hard-boiled egg in it).
Spicy Melon Soup
However, to me vinegar is the ingredient that transforms this Spicy Melon Soup into gazpacho. Others will say it’s simply a cold summer soup unless it has tomatoes for zing and stale bread as a thickener. My Spicy Melon Soup has neither. So to both appease and stick it to the haters, I’ll say all that matters is this melon gazpacho is one great summer soup. Let me explain why.
I like summer soups– whether they’re a traditional blending of tomatoes, red pepper, onion, oil and vinegar as in gazpacho– or something less expected like today’s melon and habanero. However, there’s a secret to keeping these soups from becoming little more than pulverized salad.
That secret is balance, and you probably knew that.
Traditional gazpacho balances bright acidity with aromatic flavors. A poorly made gazpacho has aggressively raw flavors that somehow linger on the tongue. I’m not talking about finish. Good gazpacho, like a good wine, will linger on the palate in a pleasing way that transforms the initial taste experience.
The same can be said for sweet soups. They need a savory balance to keep from becoming a ghastly ice cream topping. I tried to achieve that balance in this Spicy Melon Soup with the spiciness of fresh ginger and a touch of habanero chile. I realize it’s a controversial combination of flavors, so to appease the gazpacho purists I’ll call this a chilled soup (despite the balancing bite of bright vinegar). GREG
This looks quite fabulous to me, I don’t care what you call it. Love that you’re stickin’ it to the haters!
Right on! Always — and I mean always — stick it to the haters! Good thing too, because we get this terrific soup. So stick it to them some more!
I just devoured the most delicious cantaloupe last night. It would have been perfect for this soup! I wish I had seen this recipe first 😉 And I’m fine with either name. Either way this looks YUM!
Seriously — mean comments? I get them once in awhile and I let them slide, because for the most part I find them amusing — that people have so little else to do with themselves. In any case, this soup looks quite amazing, and I can’t imagine finding fault with it — it is going on my “to try list” 🙂
This a gorgeous soup, and all of these ingredients combined sound so incredibly wonderful. And I also loved the Smoky Gazpacho. “Smoky” is my favorite culinary word — makes everything delicious. 🙂
Haters? Really? How like a mosquito buzzing in your ear. Sorry you had to deal with them, and bravo for your adult response. This looks absolutely fantastic, and so different from my cantaloupe soup which is spiked with sweet wine and mint. Gotta try it.
I bet the sherry vinegar really kicks up the flavor.
Great colors, Greg. I’m not much for chilled soup, probably because it doesn’t really exist in traditional Italian cooking (and now that I’ve written that I’m sure there must be an exception somewhere). But I do like a good gazpacho. I know what you mean by balance and the difference between a good one and a bad one because I’ve had a few bad ones. This one looks good and I’ll have to check out your smoky gazpacho recipe too, as I love anything smoky. Keep sticking it to the haters. Cheers, D
Oh heck yes. Haters be gosh darned. You make good food.
Glad to see you stick to your guns, Greg — great (and tasty) food is a fluid universe with no place for sticklers…this looks delicious!
always so controversial here… [wink]
this sounds fantastic, whatever you want to call it. will be perfect with our high temps up here in Portland.