Cantaloupe Soup (Sopa De Melon Escribe)

Sopa de melon is one of those Spanish dishes that sounds fancy but takes about as long to make as it does to say.

Fresh cantaloupe, cooked potato, and half and half get blended into a velvety puree, then spiked with dry sherry and served cold.

The potato is the quiet genius here. It gives the soup body and a silky, spoonable thickness without any cream-heavy richness.

A grating of nutmeg or a thin lime slice on top is all the garnish it needs.

Serve it as an elegant first course at a dinner party, or sip it from a glass on a sweltering afternoon when solid food feels like too much work.

Chef Tips

• Use a fully ripe, fragrant cantaloupe. The soup has nowhere to hide bland fruit.
• Chill everything before blending for the coldest, most refreshing result. Warm soup defeats the whole purpose.
• The sherry adds a dry, nutty complexity. Don’t skip it, but taste as you go. A quarter cup is a starting point, not a rule.