Chilled Cantaloupe Curry Soup

"Chilled Cantaloupe Curry Soup is a super quick, slightly spicy, refreshing soup. Fresh sweet cantaloupe, enhanced with a touch of ginger and spicy serrano pepper, along with the soft notes of curry powder - perfect for a hot summer's day."

The making of Chilled Cantaloupe Curry Soup

The cantaloupe sits on the counter mocking me.

Ripening further still, willing me to DO SOMETHING ...

And so I must ...

And while I was not in the mood for some plain old delicious cubes of cantaloupe, I decided to make a refreshing soup from it.

I have an idea of what I want the final product to taste like -

1. Cantaloupe - yes.
2. Spicy - yes.
3. Great flavor - yes.
4. A bit creamy, but not creamed - yes.

I start with my collection of cookbooks. I have so many that are farm to table I am certain I will find the basis of a great recipe to start with.

But no, not a one.

So to the internet.

OMGosh, how many recipes does All-Recipes print of the same recipe? And no, I don't want orange juice soup with cinnamon flavors. So many recipes call for massive amounts of orange juice (2 cups in many) and cinnamon. I want a cantaloupe soup with some spicy flavor.

So I guess I'll do it the old-fashioned way...scratch the brain, taste, adjust and come up with my perfect Chilled Cantaloupe Soup...

So I start with the cantaloupe, cutting it into chunks and putting it into the blender...now what to go with??? I have an orange in the refrigerator, so why not add it. It comes to about ½ a cup total juice, so it will add flavor but not take over the flavor.

Orange juice and ginger are a natural pair, so I add ginger to the mix, then, because I have serrano peppers in the garden, I decided to add one for heat. My peppers are growing very hot this year, so one was enough to add the heat I wanted, (I left the seeds in), but as always you want to taste your pepper for heat before deciding not only how much to use, but if you want to seed it or not. The heat of the pepper is in the seeds and the membranes, so if you remove those parts, you remove a lot of the heat. But not the flavor.

If you don't have serrano peppers, you could use jalapeno instead. Jalapeno peppers are milder, so adjust as needed for your heat factor. Or, use a Thai chili, habanero or other hotter pepper. Again, adjust for heat.

OK...so now I have the cantaloupe, ginger, my pepper and a bit of orange juice in the blender...I whip it up, add a pinch of salt and taste.

Tastes pretty darn good, but it's missing something. A deeper flavor. Ginger, orange juice, hot pepper, sounds like the beginning of curry to me, so curry powder becomes the next ingredient to try.

I remove a bit of the soup to a bowl and add the curry powder. Nice. I like it.

Wanting a bit of "roundness" I decide to add just a bit of plain yogurt. It rounds it out beautifully.

This soup is perfect for the first course on a hot day. Or even as lunch; serve it with a nice salad and a fruity wine, such as Viognier. It's refreshing, and surprisingly filling which is what makes it perfect as a first course or light lunch.

If you are on a plan to lose weight, eating a small, non-cream based bowl of soup before eating a meal makes good sense. It fills you up with fewer calories, so you don't over-indulge on the main course or those higher in fat and calorie foods. And this Chilled Cantaloupe Curry Soup fits that bill just fine but also has many other health-related benefits such as being considered "very good" in potassium and B vitamins, as well as a good source of Vitamins A, K, magnesium, and folate.

And it's tasty too! Just like candy... says Lucy...

So make a bowl of this super simple deliciously healthy soup today.