Cantaloupe gazpacho with crispy prosciutto reinvents a beloved starter

I love a good cantaloupe. I have fond memories from childhood of enjoying bowls upon bowls of the fruit in the height of summer, its sweet, orange flesh flooding my taste buds with excitement. But more recently, mostly as part of a sad fruit salad, the melon’s taste pales in comparison to that in my memory, a shadow of how great I know it can be.

Therein lies cantaloupe’s big problem: The chasm between sweet, succulent melon and a sad, sorry excuse for the fruit is wide, with the potential for disappointment lurking in each produce aisle.

This is more or less a conversation I had with a colleague that left me wanting to find a way to highlight the summer melon. Thinking of the heat, my mind immediately went to a cooling bowl of gazpacho.

Cantaloupe gazpacho might sound strange and a little bit quirky, but considering tomatoes are also a fruit, why not give cantaloupe its time to shine in the cold-soup spotlight?

Off to the grocery store I went to put this idea to the test. Like many other gazpachos, this one includes cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil and sherry vinegar alongside the star ingredient. However, I was befuddled when, standing over the cutting board in our test kitchen, I sliced open the fruit to find pale green flesh, similar to that of a honeydew, instead of the characteristic orange the fruit is known for.

Did I accidentally grab a honeydew? No, the fruit sported cantaloupe’s netted skin instead of a smooth exterior. Was it severely underripe? Perhaps, though there was still a moderate amount of sweetness when I took a sample bite. Was it a hybrid or some newfangled variety I’d never seen before? Your guess is as good as mine.

Nonetheless, I persisted, blitzing it in a blender with the rest of the ingredients until smooth and adding a small squeeze of honey to account for the fruit’s lack of natural sugars. After I tasted and adjusted further for levels of salt and vinegar, the result was a sweet, savory and delicious gazpacho, highlighting how you can turn even less-than-peak produce into a craveable dish.

To add more intrigue, I added crisped prosciutto for a hit of salty umami and as a nod to the classic Italian appetizer of cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto. But what really takes this soup to the next level is the olive oil whipped cream.

I first encountered it a decade ago when testing a handful of recipes for “The Laws of Cooking: And How to Break Them” by Justin Warner. Without having looked through my old emails, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what kind of soup it was — arugula, in case you’re wondering — but the topping has stayed with me ever since, placed high on a shelf in my brain, waiting for just the right moment to get brought down and dusted off. A simple combination of heavy cream, extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt, whipped until soft and pillowy, it adds a rich, luscious layer of flavor that brings the entire bowl into harmony.

This is how new dishes can come to be. Three strands — a random conversation with a co-worker, a classic appetizer and part of something I ate 10 years ago — braided together to become a sweet and savory, creamy and crispy delight.

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Cantaloupe Gazpacho

For the gazpacho:

1 cantaloupe (4 to 5 pounds), halved, seeded and rind removed, cut into chunks

2 mini cucumbers, cut into chunks

1 orange bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks

1 garlic clove, minced or finely grated

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, plus more as needed

½ teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon honey (optional)

For the crispy prosciutto:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 ounces sliced prosciutto (it’s fine if it tears)

For the olive oil whipped cream:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch fine salt

Place a medium, preferably metal bowl in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 20 minutes to chill.

Make the gazpacho: Meanwhile, in a blender, combine the cantaloupe, cucumbers, bell pepper, garlic, oil, water, vinegar and salt, and puree until smooth. Taste, and add the honey if the gazpacho isn’t sweet enough. Taste again, and season with more salt and vinegar, as needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Make the crispy prosciutto: Line a small plate with a paper towel and place it near the stove. In a small (8-inch) or medium (10-inch) nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the prosciutto in a single layer and cook, flipping with tongs occasionally, until crisped and browned, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer the prosciutto to the prepared plate, and let cool. The prosciutto will continue to crisp as it cools.

Make the whipped cream: Add the cream, olive oil and salt to the chilled bowl and, using a hand mixer on medium-low speed and gradually increasing to high, whip the mixture until soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. (Alternatively, you can whip it by hand.) You should have about 2 cups.

To serve, divide the gazpacho among bowls, add a dollop of the whipped cream, and crumble some of the crispy prosciutto on top.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Make ahead: You’ll need to chill a medium, preferably metal bowl in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 20 minutes to make it easier to whip the cream. Storage note: Refrigerate without the whipped cream and prosciutto for up to 4 days.

Substitutions: For cantaloupe, use honeydew melon. For mini cucumbers, use peeled kirby cucumbers. For orange bell pepper, use any color bell pepper. For sherry vinegar, use red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar. For prosciutto, use bacon. Vegetarian? Omit the prosciutto. Vegan? Make coconut whipped cream instead of dairy whipped cream, use a plant-based bacon, and use agave instead of honey.

Nutritional information per serving (about 1 cup gazpacho, ⅓ cup whipped cream and some of the crispy prosciutto) | 390 Calories: 30g Carbohydrates, 62mg Cholesterol, 31g Fat, 3g Fiber, 5g Protein, 12g Saturated Fat, 521mg Sodium, 28g Sugar

— Aaron Hutcherson