Summer has kind of taken hold of our lives the past little while and I just started a new job last week so things have been a crazy around here, hence the lack of blog posts. I figured a refreshing gazpacho recipe was the perfect way to get back into recipe-creation mode. This vegan gazpacho combines canary melon with cashew sour cream and fresh tarragon to make a unique summer appetizer.
This is actually the first time I’ve used fresh tarragon (which I’m now totally in love with) and the first time I’ve bought a canary melon. I’m usually a honeydew type girl, but I decided to try something new for this recipe. I found it to be little tangier and less sweet than honeydew which makes it perfect for gazpacho. If you don’t know what canary melon looks like check out the below photo. Just look for bright yellow and you should be good. However, if you can’t find canary I think any type of melon would work in this recipe.
You’ll notice I went a bit crazy with the tarragon syrup drizzle. I was trying to get it to look all pretty for the photos but please do NOT drizzle as much as I did or your gazpacho will be way too sweet. Less is really more here! If you do want to do the pretty drizzle, I recommend pouring the syrup in a plastic baggie, then snipping a corner off with scissors and then you can squeeze out a controlled amount to create all sorts of designs.
The tarragon syrup is also optional. Honestly the gazpacho was amazing all on it’s own. I’m also thinking you could add a few tarragon leaves directly to the gazpacho when you blend it up in lieu of making the syrup. If you try this let me know how it turns out!
Canary Melon Gazpacho with Tarragon Syrup
Ingredients
for the Gazpacho
- 1 canary melon, seeds and rind removed
- 1/4 cup cashew sour cream
- 1 tsp agave syrup
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- pinch of salt
for the Cashew Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 apple cider vinegar
- pinch of salt (or Herbemare)
Instructions
for the Tarragon Syrup
- Combine equal parts sugar and water in a small sauce pan, bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 10minutes or until thickened.
- Let cool, add tarragon and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Taste and add more tarragon if desired.
for the Gazpacho
- Make cashew sour cream by combining ingredients in a small blender (we use Magic Bullet) and blend until smooth. You will have leftover sour cream, but we recommend making this much just to get it blending well.
- Combine 1/4 sour cream with melon, agave, lemon juice and pinch of salt in a high-speed blender (we use Blendtec). You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender.
- Drizzle a small amount of the Tarragon Syrup over the gazpacho, garnish with fresh tarragon and serve. The syrup is very sweet so a little bit goes a long way! I recommend adding a very small amount first.
Enjoy!
