Curtis Stone's Tomato Consommé with Cucumber and Watermelon Balls for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

This has been the summer for cold soups with lots of warm and humid days. Anything to not have to turn on the oven or the stove makes me happy. I made Curtis Stone's Chilled Watermelon and Summer Berry Soup a couple of months ago and it was delicious, so I have had my eye on his Tomato Consommé with Cucumber and Watermelon Balls for a while now.

The Good Food Chanel says, "A deliciously refreshing chilled soup from Curtis Stone, garnished with fragrant herbs, crunchy cucumber and watermelon balls."

Tomato Consommé with Cucumber and Watermelon Balls
By Curtis Stone, via Good Food Channel.com
(Serves 4)

For the Soup:
12 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 beefsteak tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
handful of mixed herbs, (I used basil, parsley, tarragon and dill)
(I added a pinch of salt)

For the Garnish:
1 cucumber, peeled
1 thick slice of watermelon, de-seeded
sprigs of herbs, (I used basil, parsley, tarragon and dill)
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Put the tomatoes, cucumber and herbs in a liquidiser ((blender), and blend to purée.
 
Pour into a muslin-lined sieve set over a large bowl. Push the purée through the muslin, pressing hard with the back of a wooden spoon. Leave in the fridge for 2-3 hours to chill.
 
Using a melon baller, make some neat balls of cucumber and watermelon.
 
Place a few balls in individual serving bowls, with some tiny sprigs of herbs. Ladle in the tomato consommé and drizzle with olive oil.

Notes/Results: This is a light and refreshing soup with the more savory tomato broth, herbs and cucumbers, pairing well with the sweetness of the watermelon. I did add a pinch of salt to the broth as I think it brings out more of the flavor of the tomatoes. And normally (because I am lazy) I would skip the cheesecloth step and just run it through a mesh strainer, but it does give you a nice, clear tomato broth so take the extra minutes to strain it carefully and use the cheesecloth. The watermelon and cucumber balls add fun shape and texture. If you are uninitiated into the joys of cold soups, this is a great one to start with--it's not as harsh as gazpacho can be, it's not thick like a pureed soup, it's super cooling, and it's fun to eat. It would be a great starter for a summer lunch or dinner. I will definitely make it again. 

I'll be linking my soup up at I Heart Cooking Clubs for this coming week's *Special Edition* No-Cook Challenge post where we are 'not-cooking' recipes from out current featured chef Curtis Stone or any previous IHCC chef. That means recipes where no cooking or heat is allowed. You can see what everyone made by clicking on the picture links on the post when it goes live. 

 
We have two friends in the Souper Sunday's kitchen this week sharing a salad and a soup--let's have a look! 

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared her Quinoa Salad--Starring Roasted Corn, Pesto and Black Beans. Tina says, "This is a salad you can eat hot or cold. Do you like quinoa and black beans and roasted corn? This is for you then. As summer starts it's final countdown we are still eating light meals most of the time....But certainly we're looking forward to the heartier meals that warm us in the (oh please come on and hurry) cold weather."

Louise of Soup, Soup Glorious Soup made this Spicy Cauliflower, Turmeric and Chickpea Soup. She says, "Turmeric is having it's moment as a superfood lately. Which is fine, herbs and spices are all good for us, and tasty. Recently I tried fresh turmeric in a few recipes and so I'm still trying to get the bright orange stains out of various kitchen implements. Go the ground, I say. ... This was a fabulous soup. I really liked it, with and without sour cream. I'll be making it again. It may even enter the Hall of Fame. It's an unusual method really- par-roasting the veg and then boiling them."

Thanks to Tina and Louise for joining in this week!

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

On your entry post (on your blog):

• please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 
Have a happy, healthy week!