Serves 6
• 6 to 8 medium-sized tomatoes
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ginger
• pepper to taste
• 4 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbs. fresh-grated lemon rind
• 1 large cantaloupe
• 1 Tbs. dried basil, crushed, or 2 Tbs. chopped fresh
1. Put the tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes, until the skins start to crack and peel. Remove the tomatoes and peel them. Purée them in a blender or food processor at high speed. You should have 5 cups of the fresh tomato purée.
2. Purée the cucumber and onions in a blender or food processor and add them to the tomatoes. If you are using a blender, you could “prime” it with a bit of the puréed tomatoes. Stir in the sour cream, and season the soup with salt, ginger, pepper, lemon juice, and lemon rind.
3. Halve the cantaloupe, remove all the seeds, and either cut it into small balls with a melon scoop or peel and cut it into chunks. Toss the melon with the chopped basil, and chill both the soup and the melon for several hours.
4. To serve, pour the soup into chilled bowls and put a few spoonfuls of the melon into each one.
