watermelon gazpacho salsa

When you can’t keep up with the giant watermelon you got at the store, make yourself a bowl of gazpacho-inspired watermelon salsa.

A seafood eatery in my neck of the woods serves a watermelon gazpacho every summer, and it’s so good, I had to make my own version. For the diced ingredients, I pared it down to four essentials: red bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, and garlic. Salt them up, hit ‘em with lime juice, then puree your watermelon and add it to the mix. It's that simple.

You can scoop this stuff with tortilla chips, spoon it over fish, or slurp it straight as a gazpacho. The pungent kick from garlic and onion, the cool crunch of bell pepper and cucumber, the refreshing sweetness of watermelon puree—it all mingles into an irresistible slurry, the last of which I tend to tip directly into my mouth from the bowl. You might find yourself doing the same.

Watch the video!

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped watermelon

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 mini cucumber, diced

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 lime wedges

kosher salt to taste

Directions:

1. Dice the bell pepper, cucumber, red onion, and garlic, and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and the two wedges of lime juice.

2. Puree the chopped watermelon until smooth, then pour it over the diced ingredients.

3. Stir everything together, take a taste, and add additional salt and/or lime juice as needed.