Best Cucumber Gazpacho With Shrimp And Melon Recipes

WATERMELON GAZPACHO WITH SHRIMP

Steps:

• Slice the bread 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and remove the crust from all but 4 slices. Tear the crustless slices into pieces and pulse in a food processor to make coarse crumbs. Add the chopped watermelon to the food processor along with the chopped scallion, tomato, half each of the cucumber and jalapeno and 1/4 cup cold water; puree. With the machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup olive oil and the juice of 1 lime. Stir in 2 tablespoons mint, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and brush with olive oil. Toss the shrimp and whole scallions with the juice of the remaining lime and 2 tablespoons each olive oil and mint, the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Grill the shrimp until marked, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue grilling until cooked through, about 2 more minutes. Grill the scallions until lightly charred, 1 minute per side. Brush the remaining bread slices with olive oil and grill until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
• Top each serving of gazpacho with the diced watermelon and the remaining cucumber and jalapeno; drizzle with olive oil. Serve with the grilled shrimp, scallions, bread and lime wedges.

HONEYDEW MELON GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Roughly chop the melon and add to the bowl of a food processor, reserving some for garnish. Chop the cucumber and halve the grapes and add to the food processor. Top with the spinach, basil, scallions and serrano. Splash in the olive oil, champagne vinegar, lime juice and honey. Process until the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute. Add half the avocado and process again until the avocado has been completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and thin with ice water if necessary to reach desired consistency.
• Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• To serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the diced honeydew, sliced avocado, and cilantro leaves. Serve with wedges of lime on the side.

CUCUMBER GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Thinly slice one of the cucumbers to equal 1/3 cup. Transfer cucumber slices to a small bowl; cover and chill until ready to use.
• Coarsely chop remaining cucumbers and transfer to a blender. Add honeydew, bread cubes, 1/4 cup oil, vinegar, and 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt. Process on low speed, gradually increasing speed to high, until cucumber mixture is very smooth and creamy, about 90 seconds.
• Pour gazpacho into a medium bowl. Cover and chill until cold, about 1 hour.
• Right before serving, toss together reserved cucumber slices, feta cheese, mint, honey, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
• Stir and ladle gazpacho into 4 shallow bowls. Top evenly with cucumber-feta mixture and drizzle with olive oil.

FIERY GRILLED SHRIMP WITH HONEYDEW GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Cut away the honeydew rind and the dark green flesh close to the rind. Cut the honeydew into 1-inch chunks. You should have 4 cups of melon.
• Put the melon in a blender along with the fennel, celery, cucumber, and jalapeños. Blend on low speed until almost smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids. Stir in the minced chile, lime juice, salt, and sugar. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover tightly and refrigerate until very cold.
• When ready to serve, heat your grill on high until very hot.
• Sprinkle salt, chile flakes, and the mint all over the shrimp, then gently press in the seasonings. Drizzle a little oil all over the shrimp. Grill the shrimp, flipping once, until just opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Skewer to serve if desired.
• Divide the cold soup among cold serving bowls. Serve the hot shrimp on small plates next to the bowls. Drizzle a little oil over the soup and shrimp. Garnish the soup with mint and squirt a little lime juice over the shrimp. Serve immediately.

SHRIMP AND MELON GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. You will be using it as a court bouillon - a poaching liquid for the shrimp. The court bouillon is not actually part of the soup. Poach the shrimp in their shells until just pink and remove to a platter to cool. (Shrimp cooked in its shell retains more flavor).
• While the shrimp are cooling, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, tomatillos, cantaloupe, and honeydew melon in a food processor and pulse to coarsely chop. Remove to a bowl and squeeze in the juice of the fresh lemon, being careful not to drop any remaining lemon seeds into the mix. Add the chopped chives, and stir to combine.
• Peel the shrimp and finely dice. Stir the shrimp into the fruit/vegetable mixture and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Chill well.
• In the episode, we served this gazpacho as an hors d'oeuvres in porcelain Chinese spoons. You can do the same or be creative by using your own choice of individual serving vessel such as sake cups, rice bowls or even 2 ounce ramekins with demitasse spoons. It can also be served as an appetizer in soup bowls.