Watermelon Soup

Wooohoooo! RCCL sent me the recipe for the absolutely best appetizer I've ever had. And it's rather simple, too, which is outstanding, isn't it. I believe it was the southern Caribbean cruise, with our children, that I had this refreshing soup. I'm certain it was the granit option. We'll have it this summer, and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves the flavor of watermelon:

Soup Chilled Watermelon Soup

Ingredients:

1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 limes: one for zest and both for juice
3 cups cubed and seeded watermelon
2 mint leaves, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup sparkling wine (or sparkling water)

Directions:
In a small nonstick skillet, gently saute ginger, sugar, and zest over medium heat 2 minutes. Add lime juice and simmer until no liquid remains. Transfer mixture to a blender and add watermelon, mint, and sparkling wine. Puree until smooth; strain with sieve into bowl. Chill soup at least 3 hours before serving. For a more elegant version: Divide soup into 2 equal portions. Freeze a portion for 3 hours to make a granit (a slushy of sorts) and chill remaining half for 3 hours. Scrape granit into 4 bowls and pour chilled soup over granit. Garnish with mint leaves; serve immediately.

Yield: 4 Servings