Recipe adapted from Chef Carlos Guia, The Country Club, Wynn Las Vegas Serves 4 as a main course — 8 as a starter
Prep Time30 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Watermelon Gazpacho Crab Salad
Servings: 4servings
Author: Anna
Ingredients
Watermelon Gazpacho
6cupswatermelon, rind removed and cut in chunks
½cuproasted red peppers, seeded and rinsed
1cucumber, peeled, or 2 Persian cucumbers, peeled
3Tablespoonsfresh lime juice, divided use
¼ to ½cupgrenadine, grenadine is very sweet so taste the soup first then add a couple tablespoons at a time to your preference
½cuprum, optional (my daughter said she preferred it without the rum)
3dashes hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco, or more, to your taste
Kosher salt, to taste
Crab Salad
2ripe avocados
½cupchopped cilantro leaves
¾poundjumbo lump crabmeat, the Chicken of the Sea crabmeat from Costco is a Gr8 choice
1-2teaspoonsblack sesame seeds, as needed for the garnish
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Instructions
Watermelon Gazpacho
In a blender purée the watermelon, peppers and cucumber.
Add 2 Tablespoons of the lime juice, grenadine, rum, pepper sauce and salt. Blend until smooth. (I did this in two batches.)
Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Refrigerate if not serving immediately.
Crab Salad
Cut the avocados in chunks, and mix with the remaining Tablespoon of lime juice, half of the cilantro, salt and pepper.
Place a small ring mold in the center of a shallow soup bowl.
Press some of the avocado mix into the ring mold, about halfway up.
Then top with the lump crab meat; pack it in, to get a good portion and to keep it together when removing the mold.
Remove the mold carefully.
Carefully ladle the gazpacho around the crab salad.
Sprinkle the black sesame seeds over the gazpacho. This will look like watermelon seeds!
Garnish with a sprig of cilantro.
Notes
Gr8 Do Ahead Tip:
The soup can be made a day ahead of time and kept refrigerated. My soup had a thick foam on the top after refrigerating. You can stir it in or remove the foam. I removed the foam and had a lovely clear-ish soup. (The foam tasted delicious, too!)