Recipe: Thai-Spiced Watermelon Soup with Crab Meat

Thai-Spiced Watermelon Soup with Crab Meat
Serves 4 (first course)
Active time: 1 hr; Start to finish: 1 hr (3 hr, if serving chilled)

This light, spicy soup is delicious hot or chilled. The sauteed aromatics turn the broth a rich red-orange, more reminiscent of tomato than watermelon. See if your guests can guess the main ingredient.

For soup:

• 5 cups coarsely chopped, seeded watermelon (from a 4-lb piece, rind discarded)
• 1 fresh lemongrass stalk
• 3 Tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons mild olive oil
• 1 small hot green chile such as Thai or Serrano, finely chopped (including seeds), or to taste
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
• 3/4 tsp salt, or to taste

For crab:

• 10 oz jumbo lump crab meat (2 cups), picked over
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons mild olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Accompaniment of lime wedges

To make soup:

1. Puree watermelon in a blender until smooth and transfer to a bowl. (Don’ t wash blender.)
2. Discard 1 or 2 outer leaves of lemongrass and trim root end. Thinly slice lower 5 to 6 inches of stalk and then mince, discarding remainder.
3. Cook lemongrass, shallot, ginger, and garlic in oil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, until aromatics are pale golden, about 5 minutes. Add about one third of watermelon puree and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 5 minutes.
4. Remove watermelon mixture from heat, and transfer to blender along with chile, lime juice and salt, and blend until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids).
5. Add remaining watermelon puree and blend briefly. Season soup with more chile, lime juice, and salt if desired, blending if necessary.
6. Pour soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on and discarding any solids.
7. Chill soup, uncovered, about 2 hours if serving cold, or reheat in cleaned saucepan.

To prepare crab:
Toss crab meat with cilantro, oil, and salt. Divide crab among 4 soup plates, mounding in center, and pour chilled or hot soup around it.

Cook’s notes:
* Soup can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Cover after 2 hours of chilling.
* Crab meat can be picked over 1 day ahead and crab mixture can be prepared 1 hour before serving. Chill, covered.