Flavorful Soup Ingredients
I’ve always been a big fan of eating melon. Watermelon, honeydew, muskmelons, cantaloupe — all juicy and delicious fruit that I can’t get enough of. The sweet component, combined with the tanginess of the apple cider vinegar, and the burst of saltiness from the prosciutto work well together even though the combination of ingredients may sound unusual at first.
Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe is extremely high in vitamin C, along with potassium, fiber, and choline. The choline, in particular, is important to include in our diets, as it’s an essential nutrient that helps with falling asleep, improves cognitive function, assists fat absorption, and reduces chronic inflammation. (1) Cantaloupes also have a high water content, making them a great fruit to eat on those hot summer days to help you keep hydrated.
Savory Cold Soup
It wasn’t until this recipe that I ever thought to make a soup using cantaloupe. It works perfectly though, as the melon provides a deliciously sweet taste that combines with the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and apple cider vinegar perfectly. They all blend to make a savory cold soup that has an ever so mild kick to it. The addition of cucumber and spring onion as a topping help balance the spicy kick slightly by adding a nice cool touch as well.
Prosciutto
By frying a few slices of delicious prosciutto as the final topping, you add a wonderful crispy element to the whole thing. Add it all together and you have a super simple cold soup to prepare that will satisfy all of your taste buds without a doubt.
To be perfectly honest with you guys, when I first heard about gazpacho, I wasn’t exactly sure what it was either. Needless to say, it’s now become one of my favorite lunchtime dishes thanks to the fact it’s so simple to prepare. That and it includes so many of my favorite foods, especially this melon gazpacho with cantaloupe. Another great way to make gazpacho includes tomato and red pepper as well. Try them both out for yourself and you’ll see just how good these cold soups really are.
If you’re fond of having something light like soup and sandwiches for lunch, ne sure to check out these paleo-approved recipes. These are filling and nutritious without the bloat from artificial ingredients found in store-bought soups. My personal favorite is the roasted tomato soup (#4)!
#1 – Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Soup
#2 – Hearty Paleo Vegetable Soup
#3 – Homemade Chicken No-Noodle Soup
#4 – Roasted Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound cantaloupe melon, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
- 4 slices prosciutto
- 1 small cucumber, finely diced
- 3 spring onion, thinly sliced
- salt, black pepper to taste
Directions
- Place the melon, tomatoes and garlic in a blender or food processor and blend until really smooth.
- Add the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, red pepper flakes and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Blend until combine.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the prosciutto and cook 1-2 minutes per side or until crisp.
- Spoon the gazpacho into bowls and top with the cucumber, spring onions and crumbled crispy prosciutto.
- Drizzle with extra olive oil and serve.