Chilled Cantaloupe Soup
This chilled soup is full of the fragrance of melons, blended with fresh peaches and oranges and infused with exotic spices plus a generous pour of Madeira wine and a layer of Texas honey.
Equipment
- small saucepan
- Blender
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh orange juice about 3 to 4 oranges
- 3 whole star anise
- 5 whole allspice
- ½ cup madeira wine
- 8 to 10 cups cubed ripe cantaloupe about 1 large melon, plus extra for serving
- 2 cups peaches*, peeled and sliced, about 2 large peaches
- 4 tablespoons honey
- ¾ tablespoon orange zest about 3 to 4 oranges
- 1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh®
- Sour cream for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the orange juice with the star anise and the allspice in a small saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Remove the pan, cover and let the juice steep with the spices for about an hour.
- Pour ¼ cup of the Madeira wine into the canister of a blender. Add half of the cantaloupe, half of the peaches along with the honey and orange zest.
- Blend, starting on low using the tamper as needed. Raise the speed to medium-high and blend until very smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the soup to a large container that will hold about 10 cups.
- Repeat with the remaining Madeira wine along with the rest of the cantaloupe and the peaches.
- Pour the orange juice and the spices into the soup base. Add the Fruit Fresh® and stir to blend together. The soup will be quite frothy at this point.
- Cover and let the soup chill overnight.
- Before serving, give the soup a good stir. Serve topped with a swirl of sour cream and garnish with small pieces of fresh cantaloupe.
Notes
*Fruit Fresh® will help prevent the peaches from browning, and frozen peaches can be used in place of fresh.