Years ago I ordered a chilled cantaloupe soup and it blew me away. I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind since. A great melon soup is light, a little sweet, and just the slightest bit of tang.
Chilled Cantaloupe Soup Recipe
If you don’t have sour cream on hand, you can use plain Greek yogurt instead. Both of these ingredients give the soup substance and a special tanginess that’s the perfect partner to a sweet cantaloupe.
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
- 1 pinch of Himalayan sea salt
- 4 sprigs of basil
Instructions
- Put cantaloupe, orange juice, lime juice, cardamom, and salt into the food processor or blender.
- Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour into 4 glasses or bowls.
- Garnish with 1 tablespoon of sour cream (or creme fraiche) and a sprig of basil on top of each glass.
Building a Chilled Cantaloupe Soup recipe
I looked online and asked around for a recipe and couldn’t find anything close to what I had that night. I found recipes that called for orange juice and mint leaves. Anyone who has had a glass of OJ after brushing their teeth knows that. I wanted to find a spice that would blend well with the cantaloupe and enhance its natural sweetness without overpowering it.
For the love of cardamon
I love cardamon. It has a deep rich flavor like cocoa that’s almost nutty, kinda earthy like pepper, and aromatic just a bit like honeysuckle. It would be like if a cocoa pod, cinnamon stick, and a bit of honey all got together and had a love child in Tahiti. That’d be cardamon.
Sure enough, just a little bit of the spice nailed it. It’s from the ginger family and like ginger, cardamon is a digestive aid and has been used to help fight infection and inflammation. Often, you can find it in Indian cooking like green chicken curry or in sweet dishes like sticky mango coconut rice.
Years ago, I had an amazing Lebanese baklava with cardamon, rose water, and honey. It’s been over 20 years and I still remember it. Cardamon is also delicious in coffee, tea, and now cantaloupe soup!
Soup or Smoothie?
All the ingredients came together beautifully. This cold soup is refreshing, different, and a bit exotic. But then I got to thinking… “Is it really a soup?
What is the difference between a chilled fruit soup and a fruit smoothie? And for that matter, how do they differ from a vichyssoise or a gazpacho?”
Well, let’s start with soup. My Webster’s Dictionary defines soup as liquid food.
Vichyssoise is a cold soup made of leeks, potatoes, and cream. It’s French and has been around forever. And a gazpacho is a cold Spanish soup (with possible roots dating back to the Romans) made of pureed herbs, spices, and vegetables such as tomatoes are cucumbers.
A soup can be a meal eaten on its own or served as one course in a multi-course meal. A soup is also eaten with a spoon and a smoothie is sipped through a straw.
So, I think the question of soup vs. smoothie, is more of a question of where not what. If it’s in a bowl, it’s soup. If it’s in a glass, it’s a smoothie.
Regardless of how you eat this as a soup or smoothie, it’s perfect for a light dinner on a hot summer day!
Chilled Cantaloupe Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cantaloupe peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
- 1 pinch himalayan sea salt
- 4 sprigs of basil
Equipment
- food processor or blender
- knife and cutting board
Instructions
-
Put cantaloupe, orange juice, lime juice, cardamom, and salt into the food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
-
Pour into 4 glasses.
-
Garnish with 1 tablespoon sour cream (or creme fraiche) and a sprig of basil on top of each glass.
