Melon Pomegranate Gazpacho

Pom found our blog and sent us free pomegranate juice, and of course I had to figure out a good way to use it.

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The recipe below turned out really well. You can distinctly taste all of the ingredients, even pureed, which makes for a complex soup. And, unlike tomato-based gazpacho, the flavors don’t become muddy after a day in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

1 small or medium ripe cantaloupe, coarsely chopped
1 cup pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 seedless cucumber, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion coarsely chopped
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh cilantro or parsley to garnish

Throw everything but the fresh herbs in the blender and purée. Garnish each bowl with fresh herbs. This goes really well with Sauvignon Blanc (I had King Shag from Trader Joe’s).

We accompanied the gazpacho with a really good black bean salad from 101 Cookbooks:

Everything came together for a really satisfying vegetarian meal.

Like any gazpacho, this is pretty open to experimentation. Use yellow pepper and lemons if that’s what you have on hand, or throw in some celery if you want. You could also finely chop a portion of the fruits and vegetables and add them after pureeing the rest.

Recipes for pomegranate-peach sorbet–and maybe pomegranate shortcake–will likely be forthcoming.