Tomato Melon Gazpacho
September 3, 2008
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Bitter as I was about a few failed Bittman recipes, I had to give his tomato-melon gazpacho a try. The combination did strike me as a bit odd at first, but as a lover of both tomatoes and melon, I came around pretty quickly. Also, I was won over by Bittman' s lament about the typical gazpacho: “I like gazpacho, but the ultimate minimalist technique — pureeing a few tomatoes, a red pepper, some onion, oil and vinegar in a blender — is not the best.”He explains in The Minimalist, a New York Times food blog, “This yields a pulverized salad that I find coarse, its raw flavor strong and entirely too lingering. The vinegar, which adds necessary acidity, is also overpowering.”Personally, I 
like the overpowering taste of pulverized salad, but its true that sometimes gazpacho is not the finest of foods. Literally. When Bittman described his melon invention as “the mildest, most delicious, creamiest gazpacho I’ve ever tasted,”I had to give it a whirl. Finally, this got me: “With its bright orange color, it was also among the most beautiful.”I won' t trust Bittman for oatmeal cookies, but his soup idea was truly fantastic. If I were serving a multi-course meal I might put this as a palate cleanser. It might also go as 
dessert, if a dollop of mascarpone were plopped in the middle of each bowl. One thing is for sure: this is a truly creamy and sweet soup all on its own. I wouldn' t serve it with anything but fish or vegetables, since it' s so light and refreshing. I served this batch with a grilled mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich, though it could just have easily gone with a little melon and procciuto to complement the cantaloupe.
I didn' t deviate from his recipe at all—except by making it bigger. As follows, it generously serves 4.
Core, peel and seed 4 large tomatoes. * Cut flesh into 1-inch chunks. * Seed 3 pound cantaloupe and peel; cut into 
chunks. * Place a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and turn heat to high. * Sauté tomatoes for about 2 minutes—long enough for juices to release, stirring occasionally. * Set aside and add a tablespoon of oil into the same skillet. Repeat with melon, stirring about 2 minutes or until juices release. * In a blender or food processor, puree 
tomatoes and melon with 1 c water and ½ c ice cubes. * Add 10 basil leaves. * Stir in remaining olive oil and chill. * Add lemon juice and salt and pepper just before serving.*
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