Melon Soup with Melon and Mint Sorbet

This is a recipe that was on the old twimii site. It’s from a recipe book called Appetizers, Finger Food, Buffets and Parties by Bridget Jones.

So last week I reposted Jocasta Innes’ Baked Buttered Apricots and then reading through the list of old twimii recipes I realised this recipe is also from a recipe book and so guaranteed to be correct. Did I change it at all? I’m not sure. Let’s find out…

This recipe is not mine. It’s from a recipe book called Appetizers, Finger Food, Buffets and Parties by Bridget Jones. Yes, there is a real Bridget Jones and she has some surprisingly nice recipes. (I think that might be a name publishers use when they don’t want to give the real name – not sure.) I got this recipe book at work some years ago from you know the book people (this may be the company’s actual name) who go around with a set of books you can buy. Well I leafed through this book and on the basis of the pictures I bought it. One of the photos that really appealed to me was the one for Iced Melon Soup with Melon and Mint Sorbet.

It’s one of these books that I had no real intention of using as a real recipe book because I felt the recipes were probably a little too complicated or fussy for me. I got it because I liked the look of the food in the book. After making this though I’m going to try a lot more recipes in the book. I love this. I love melon and this is like a celebration of melon. It’s sweet enough that you could serve it as a dessert but really it’s a gorgeously sweet and refreshing starter. Also, while the title sounds quite complicated it’s really just blending some melon with a couple of other things, freezing some of it and chilling the other bit.

To date this is the only recipe from the book I’ve made, but if I do make something else from it I’ll post it on twimii. – Actually I think I got the idea for the Beetroot Relish from this book.

I feel the need to admit that going forward on twimii I’m going to be making other people’s recipes. I myself have found it annoying to discover – damnit! – I haven’t noted down the incorrect quantities (or sometimes even ingredients) in some of my recipes. So easy way out, I’m using other people’s recipes for a while. Hope this okay. I will of course state the original source of the recipe.

I’m so glad I started abitmoreveg to get me making my own stuff again – it’s fun trying to come up with something. Also, my vegetarian lasagne is really really good – go on try it.

I was making this for four so I used slightly different quantities to the original recipe. First I’ll give the original ingredients and then mine. In the original Bridget Jones suggests using a combination of Charentais and Ogen melon or Cantaloupe and Piel de Sapo. I used Canary melon for the sorbet and a combination of honeydew and cantaloupe for the soup. Here’s a page which lists 25 varieties of melon – though it might be handy.

So no, didn’t follow the recipe exactly – no surprises there. Guess I’m equally glad I attempted doing that last year – and did do that really – apart from that one Gordon Ramsay one…

The Way I make Iced Melon Soup with Melon and Mint Sorbet is…

Serves 4

• 1 very ripe honeydew melon
• 1 very ripe cantalouple melon
• 1 squeeze of fresh orange juice
• 1 small squeeze of fresh lemon juice

For the melon and mint sorbet

• 1 heaped tbsp caster sugar
• 60ml water
• 1 very ripe canary melon
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

With these quantities you will have enough “soup” to add 2 soup ladles into 4 bowls and enough of the sorbet to add 4 scoops of sorbets into each bowl.

And the instructions are the same as below: