Light and Refreshing Watermelon Gazpacho
By: Leah Rodrigues
Published: June 2, 2012

This light and refreshing watermelon gazpacho is guaranteed to cool you down in the summer.  Traditionally, gazpacho is a cold tomato soup made with a variety of vegetables and herbs. In this recipe, the tomatoes are substituted with watermelon for an unconventional twist of this Spanish dish.  The watermelon is combined with green onion and jalapeno pepper for a contrast of sweet and spicy.  Some lime juice and mint are added at the end to brighten the dish and heighten all the flavors.  Watermelon gazpacho is guaranteed to become a favorite recipe this summer.
Watermelon Gazpacho
Ingredients:
1 small seedless watermelon, cut up into chunks
	1 jalapeno pepper
	3 stalks of green onion, sliced thinly
	1 lime
	1/4 cup of mint leaves
	1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
	sea salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Put the watermelon chunks into a large bowl (you should use approximately 3 cups worth). Reserve a few chunks for garnish.
Zest the lime over the watermelon and squeeze the lime juice into the bowl.
Cut a few thin slices of the jalapeno pepper and set aside for garnish. Finely dice the rest of the jalapeno (make sure to remove the seeds) and add to the bowl.
Add in the green onions (reserve some for garnish), rice vinegar and mint leaves, stirring to combine.
Transfer the mixture into a blender, whipping until creamy and smooth.
Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.
Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with watermelon chunks, jalapeno pepper slices, green onion and a few mint leaves.