Say the words “fruit soup” to the average American diner, and he imagines some sickly sweet children’s concoction, some sandbox project slopped together with marshmallows, animal crackers and chocolate syrup.
This is to say that fruit soups for dessert have always been a hard sell in this country. Back when I was making my own desserts, I always included a fruit soup on my summer menu: They were light, easy to put together and the best way to bring out the pure flavor of the fruit. I would have my wait staff taste the soup (most of them had never had a fruit soup before), beg them to sell it, then inevitably take it off the menu a few weeks later when no one bought it.
I’ve had some excellent fruit soups over the years: apricot with riesling at Tante Claire in Paris; rhubarb with strawberry sorbet at Gramercy Tavern in New York; and tart passionfruit with ginger ice cream at Veritas, around the corner from Gramercy Tavern.
Honeydew melon, which is plentiful and in season right now, makes a great dessert soup. Turning it into a soup is the best way to exploit the melon’s high water content. The soup is simplicity itself: You peel and seed the melon, blend it and add sugar syrup, lime juice, a pinch of salt and some finely chiffonaded mint. Honeydew melon soup is a good match for vanilla or ginger ice cream or any fruit sorbet or granita.
John Broening cooks at Duo and Olivea restaurants in Denver.
Honeydew Melon Soup
Makes about 6 servings.
Ingredients
1 ripe honeydew melon, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 lime half
Pinch of salt
6 mint leaves
Ice cream or sorbet (optional)
Directions
Blend the melon until smooth, in batches if necessary. Transfer it to an odor-free plastic or metal container and refrigerate.
In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and water. Cover the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Transfer it to a small container and cool.
Whisk the sugar syrup into the soup to taste. Squeeze the lime into the soup and add the salt. Chill the soup again until very cold. (If you’re in a hurry, place the soup in a container of ice water in the fridge and whisk the soup every few minutes.)
When you’re ready to serve the soup, stack the mint leaves, roll them up and cut them into very thin strips with a sharp knife. Divide the soup among chilled bowls and garnish with the mint and ice cream or sorbet if using. Serve immediately.
