Buying watermelon is always a kind of gamble – even with all the suggested methods for choosing a good one, once you get home and cut it – it’s always a surprise. This time I ended up with a tasty watermelon, that unfortunately was very pale in color, far from the bright, appetizing one I was hoping for. Luckily, I also bought some beautiful fresh and sweet strawberries from the farm stand, so I’ve decided to combine the two in the form of a chilled soup.
The first version I’ve made, a sweet-salty and a bit spicy soup, was served as a first course for a light lunch. The second one, a simpler and sweeter version, was served as a light dessert, for a heavier dinner. Since I made more than needed of the last, I put the remaining portion into good use by preparing tasty and refreshing popsicles from it.
All the versions were a great success, and I have no doubt I will be making them again, as the watermelon and strawberry season has just begun. These easy no-cooking dishes are just perfect for hot days, when you don’t feel like turning the oven on. Try any of these versions and enjoy.
Note:
* This type of soup is at its best when served fresh. So, keep the prepared watermelon and strawberries chilled in the fridge, and blend the soup just before serving.
First course version:
Makes: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the soup:
4 cups seedless watermelon, cut into medium cubes, chilled
2 cups hulled small strawberries, chilled
A handful of fresh mint leaves
1 Tbs fresh ginger, sliced
2 Tbs aged Balsamic vinegar
½ tsp freshly ground 4 pepper mix
½ tsp salt
1 Tbs honey
For serving:
½ cup goats milk Feta cheese, crumbled
4 tsp olive oil
Fresh mint leaves
1. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl. Blend with a hand blander to a smooth soup. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
2. Divide into soup bowls. Add the Feta cheese, olive oil and mint leaves and serve immediately.
Dessert/Popsicle version:
Makes: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
4 cups seedless watermelon, cut into medium cubes, chilled
2 cups hulled small strawberries, chilled
A handful of fresh mint leaves
Dash salt
1 tsp fresh ginger, sliced
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs honey
Fresh mint leaves for garnish
1. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl. Blend with a hand blander to a smooth soup. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
2. Divide into soup bowls, garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.
Popsicles: Fill popsicle molds with the soup mixture. Freeze for 2-3 hours before serving.
Hi Chef Ronit-we loveeeeeeeeeeee watermelon the small round seedless ones! Yummy.
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Hi Cheryl, we definitely share this! Watermelons are so good. The seedless ones make it easier to prepare and serve. Love them! 🙂
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What a delicious, refreshing summer soup! I love ginger in it.
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Thank you Dolly, I’m glad you liked the recipes. The fresh ginger adds such a nice “kick” to the fruits. Highly recommended! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Ronit, for sharing!
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My pleasure! 🙂
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What a clever idea Ronit, this soup. So perfect for warm weather and so original. I love it.
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Thank you Myra, I’m glad you liked the recipes. The hot summer days are already here, so it’s great to have such quick no-cooking ones. 🙂
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I do love watermelon in hot weather! Unfortunately it’s been unseasonably cold this week. I’ll have to try watermelon with ginger, it sounds so bright and refreshing!
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Thank you Kathryn! Cold watermelon is the best for hot weather. I’m sure there are still hot days coming your way… The ginger was added on a whim, but worked so well. Highly recommended! 🙂
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What fun! I’ll bet that ginger adds a real bite!
Virtual hugs,
Judie
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Thank you Judie! The ginger adds such a nice flavor to the watermelon. Highly recommended! 🙂
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I’ve never tried watermelon soup, it certainly sounds great for summer. And those popsicles look amazingly refreshing. Two great recipes.
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Thank you Daniela, I’m glad you liked the recipes. Watermelon soup is not very common, but definitely worth trying. 🙂
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What a beautiful recipe, Ronit. Sadly we are heading for mid winter here in New Zealand so I will be stashing this recipe in my “can’t wait for summer” folder. The popsicles are fabulous!
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Thank you Tracey!
When it gets too hot here, I do wish we’d head to mid-winter! At least there are all the wonderful fruits to compensate for it.
Hope you’ll enjoy the dishes next summer. 🙂
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These popsicles are perfect for summer!
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Thank you Kreso, they sure are! 🙂
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Both soup and Popsicles look refreshing! Perfect for the 90’s weather we have here 🙂
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Thank you! Here too it’s way too hot for my taste. These soups and popsicles do help! :0
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The popsicles look so refreshing! Perfect for a summer day!
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Thank you, they really are so refreshing. Already made a second batch! 🙂
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There are combined 2 my favourites: strawberries and watermelon,so it cannot be bad:) 🙂 but something extra delicious 🙂 Thank you for inspiration and idea 🙂
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Thank you Ruta, I’m glad to know you too like this combination. It turned out really good. Hope you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂
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Great combination for a cold, seasonal soup. I’ve made strawberry soup before but never added watermelon. What really looks good are those popsicles 🙂
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Thank you Judi! I love both watermelon and strawberry soups, but I too didn’t combine them together until now. The main reason was adding some color to the pale watermelon, but now that I saw how good they work together, I will definitely combine them again.
The popsicles were also an afterthought, but again, worked so well. Sometimes improvisation works! 🙂
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This sounds incredible. And with the goat cheese?!!! Yum.!
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Thank you Mimi, I’m glad you liked the recipes. Goat cheese feta worked so well here. Highly recommended! 🙂
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Wat a great soup and popsicle!!! Looks wonderful 👍☺️
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Thank you Priya, I’m glad you liked the recipes. 🙂
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love anything watermelon..those popsicles are sure a treat
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Thank you Lathiya, I’m glad you liked the recipes. The popsicles are great on a hot day. 🙂
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My dad had s knack for always choosing the sweetest tasting watermelon!! I love the vibrant colour of this watermelon and strawberry chilled soup and those popsicles are just what I need right now! Simply lovely Ronit 😊
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Thank you Marisa, I’m glad you liked the recipes. I never mixed watermelon and strawberries until now, but will do from now on, as the result was so tasty and colorful.
Some people do have the gift of knowing whether the watermelon is good or not. I’m definitely not one of them… How great to have such a father! 🙂
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Great idea watermelon soup and popsicle ! perfect for the hot weather
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Thank you Nisha, I’m glad you liked the recipes. They are indeed so good on hot days. 🙂
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You had me at balsamic in soup ❤ I’m looking forward to trying both versions..
Both will be so refreshing on a hot day !
My dad makes fresh pineapple popsicles.. There is nothing like fresh fruit for popsicles.. They are much tastier, cheaper and healthier to make than to buy..
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Thank you, I’m glad you liked the recipes. I hope you’ll enjoy them as well.
You’re so right about homemade popsicles. They are so easy to make and so much healthier and tastier than commercial ones.
I too love making pineapple ones, and add a nice amount of fresh mint to them as well. If you want to try this version, you can find it in this link:
https://ronitpenso.wordpress.com/tips/
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Terrific ! Thanks for the link with a new spin on them..
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😂 Imagine my surprise when I linked to that.. Seeing tomatoes..
I already knew the pomegranate tip but there was so much information in that one post ! That’s really full of useful info.. and of course the mint pineapple pops too 😊
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lol Sorry, I forgot to mention you have to scroll down for it. But I’m glad you liked the page and recipe. 🙂
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Wow! Now that is different!
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Thank you Kandall, I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
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Welcome!
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What a fantastic recipe for summer!
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Thank you Aniqah! 🙂
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Looks so yummy😊😊
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Thank you! 🙂
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Fantastic recipes! That soup… just yum. Now I know what I’ll do with parts of the truckload of strawberries I’ll be carrying home from the farmer’s market on saturday 😀 The time to think about ways to draw out the strawberry season is approaching in our corner of the world and your popsickles sound like the perfect way to do that~ If I can find a way to hide them from hubby….and myself for longer than a day or two 😀
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Thank you Diana, I’m glad you liked the recipes. The popsicles are indeed hard to resist, but as they contain a fairly small amount of sugar, and are 100% natural, that should ease the guilt! 🙂
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Fantastic recipes! Love to try them soon!
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Thank you Megala. I hope you’ll enjoy the recipes. I’ll be happy to hear your comments. 🙂
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A great refreshing treat for the summer. Beautiful two recipes. Kids would love this Popsicle’s.
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Thank you Sumith, I’m glad you liked the recipes. The Popsicles were a hit among young and old. 🙂
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Omg it looks great! Love all the Ingredients 🙂
http://www.mycomfortzone698.wordpress.com
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Thank you! 🙂
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