Cooking the Alphabet: W is for Watermelon

Watermelon is wonderful. The combination of juicy yet crunchy flesh has appealed to me for as long as I can recall—and I never outgrew the fun of seed–spitting contests. But how does one cook with watermelon? Well, let’s go into the kitchen to check it out.

In addition to being so tasty, watermelon is quite nutritious, making it something worth working into one’t diet more frequently. A few years back, when I was on a big homemade sorbet-making kick [well, truth be told, I would still be on that kick if not for our ice cream freezer dying], I tried all sorts of recipes, including watermelon sorbet. I think the lack of the crunchy texture made the sorbet less appealing for some in the family, but others really liked it. And I don’t recall if I made this watermelon salad recipe first, or read it and was inspired to make my own variant, which I turned into a salsa ... but both are quick and delicious. I also recall one of my aunts making a yummy “fruit soup” that was little more than a lot of fruits thrown together with some sort of liquid(s) (I know some tequila went in there) added; it had watermelon in it. I would think a savory soup featuring watermelon, something along the lines of a gazpacho, could work very nicely too. In fact, I might just try that some day soon! The more I explore, the more I appreciate how versatile watermelon is.

These days lots of varieties of watermelon are available: tiny “personal” ones to the traditional enormous ones; seed-bearing or seedless; red or yellow or orange flesh; and probably other tweaks I have yet to discover. I’ve not tasted all the varieties, being quite content with the original version I grew up with; but any variety ought to work well in these recipes. That said, I do not yet know if the off-season, very expensive watermelons sometimes available have the depth of flavor required for them—my suspicion is they do not. Most produce has an optimal growing season for a reason; and trying to thwart that often results in a lack of quality. Better to wait for next watermelon season, if necessary, to try any of these or whatever ideas they may spawn in your own mind.

Watermelon Sorbet

(This is a very approximate recipe, as I didn’t record my exact steps and much depends upon the juiciness of the watermelon.)

1 C sugar
1 C water
5–6 C seeded, puréed watermelon, excess juice reserved (drained enough to obtain a thick slurry)
1/4 C freshly-squeezed lemon OR lime juice
dash cinnamon (optional)

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil 3–5 minutes, or until a slightly thick syrup is obtained. Allow to cool, or refrigerate the simple syrup before using in the sorbet.

Starting with about 1 C of the cooled simple syrup, add it and the citrus juice to the watermelon slurry. Stir to mix well, and taste. If necessary add more watermelon juice or syrup to reach a desirable taste and texture—the final mix should be about as thick as half and half. Stir in the cinnamon if using it. (Some watermelon juice should remain; don’t toss it out! Drink it as is, or use in a cold soup, or cocktail, or freeze for fruity-flavored cubes for punch.)

Pour into ice cream freezer and churn until frozen. For best results, pack into a very clean plastic container and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

For a softer final product, replace a bit of the syrup with vodka, or replace some of the citrus juice with Absolut Citron or some other citrus-flavored liqueur—up to 2 T. of booze should be enough.

Watermelon–Mango Salsa

I came up with this to top grilled ahi steaks, which it did magnificently. It would probably be good on other fish, or even steak.

1/2 C. chopped red onion or sweet onion
juice from 2 limes (fresh squeezed is best)
1 ripe mango, peeled, flesh chopped, and juice squeezed from pit
1 jalapeño, finely chopped (seeded if a less fiery salsa is desired)
4 C. chopped watermelon, seeded if necessary/desired
2 T. to 1/4 C. Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients into a serving bowl and stir well. Let sit a few minutes at room temperature for flavors to blend. Alternatively, if one prefers less heat from the onion, it can be marinated in the lime juice for a few minutes prior to adding the remaining ingredients.

Notes: To get all the flesh and juice from around the pit of the mango, once one has cut the flesh away, simply take the pit in hand and rotate it while squeezing, much as one would a bar of soap.
For a Mexican variation, substitute part or all of the parsley with cilantro. Add a bit of ground cumin if desired. Substituting an habañero for the jalapeño would make for a much spicier salsa.
If there are leftovers, drain the liquid before refrigerating in a sealed container.