Recipe: Watermelon-Pomegranate Soup with Mint and Feta

The best ways I know of gauging a melon’s ripeness are two-fold: a brief inspection and thump. Roll the melon over and check the bottom. If it’s white, it’s not ready for the knife. A yellowed or light brown color is a good indicator the melon is prime. To double-check, with your forefinger, thump the melon sharply a few times or flick it with your fingertips. You should hear a reverberation — a hollow thwunk — within the melon, indicating it’s ready for the plunge.

Yield: 8-9 cups
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 pounds red watermelon; seeds removed if not seedless, and cut into hunks (approx. 9 cups)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses 
• 12 ounces plain yogurt 
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta (6 tablespoons)

Directions

1. Dice a portion of the watermelon to yield one cup. In a small bowl, combine diced watermelon with mint and set aside.
2. In batches, blend remaining watermelon, pomegranate molasses and yogurt until smooth. Let sit 1/2 hour at room temperature. With a sieve, strain soup. (The soup may be refrigerated several hours before serving at this point.)
3. When ready to serve, divide among bowls. Garnish each bowl of soup with reserved watermelon-mint and feta. Serve.

 This recipe was written by Peggy Lampman and originally posted on AnnArbor.com on Aug. 18, 2011.