We returned home from vacation on Monday to find that our internet/phone connection had gone out at some point while we were away and it was not restored until late yesterday. Over the course of the week I discovered that four days is a very long time to be without internet access. It turns out that I really don’t know how to do anything without the internet anymore… including cook! You see, this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Cold Melon-Berry Soup, is one that I have never cooked before, and one which I had no idea how (or more to the point, with what) to serve.
The only time I have ever eaten melon soup before was as one of the courses of a multi-course tasting menu at a nice restaurant, and since my husband and I don’t tend to get that fancy at home, I was completely lost as to how I should serve this soup. Is it an appetizer? A dessert? A light lunch? The portion size looked way too small to hold its own as a main course, so in the end I decided to serve it for breakfast. And since one of my favorite summer lunches is sliced melon with cured ham, I decided to serve it alongside toast topped with prosciutto.
With my menu plan worked out I headed off to my local produce stand and promptly hit my next roadblock, which is that they did not have any cantaloupe. I guess this should not have been a complete surprise since cantaloupe is not always available around here, but I thought for sure that in the middle of summer it would not be a problem. C’est la vie I guess, or as the Germans would say, so ist nun mal das Leben! Instead I bought something which is simply called “melone” in German, and which looks similar to cantaloupe on the outside, but has a pale yellow flesh and a slightly milder flavor. If anyone knows what we call this english, please let me know.
And after all that, the recipe itself was a cinch. It took me probably 5 minutes to throw the soup together, and then the only thing left to do was to let it chill in the fridge overnight. The prosciutto toast proved to be a tasty combo, but I am very interested to see how everyone else served this soup. I find that to be one of the best parts of participating in this online cooking group, finding weekly inspiration in what all of the other cooks are whipping up!
Edit: After giving google.de a shot (which is probably where I should have started to begin with) it turns out that the melon I used is a Galia melon. According to the brilliant minds at Wikipedia, Galia melons come from Israel and are a cross between a cantaloupe and a honeydew, which would explain why it looks like a cantaloupe but tastes like a honeydew.
one expat's life 
The prosciutto was a great idea!
I know what you mean about feeling totally lost without the Internet. Glad that it got restored for you. The combination of the melon soup with the prosciutto toasts sounds so delicious!
Beautiful breakfast! I didn’t actually make this one again this week. I meant to, but didn’t get around to it. I’d made it back in May for Mother’s Day, so I guess I didn’t feel any urgency to make it again. Next time I do, I’m stealing your prosciutto toast idea. That sounds like a perfect accompaniment!
Prosciuto toast. What a good idea. That’s not a honeydew melon is it. Looks like it, but they tend to be more green. Maybe a muskmelon. Whatever, made a pretty soup.
The taste was actually quite similar to a honeydew melon, but the skin looked more like a cantaloupe. I may have to do a bit more digging…
Very nice! I love all the ways this cold melon soup can be served. I’m making this one again for lunch soon;-)
Your photos are really pretty and I’m sure your soup was tasty…can’t miss with all the wonderful ingredients, however, I will just have my fruits in more traditional ways in the future…fun to try something new, but this one does not excite me. But..I am learning from all of you! Maybe my mind will be changed as the day goes along.
Why thank you. This is such a nice group and I think it’s wonderful that we are all learning from each other. But I sure as heck wouldn’t worry about not loving every recipe, there have been a few which I will not be repeating, I think that’s just the way it goes.
Very pretty – I am sure the proscuitto was a great pairing with it!
My phone and internet were both not working for most of the day yesterday and that seemed like a long time to me. I can’t imagine 4 days!
It’s so sad, I am not so young that I don’t clearly remember a time before the internet. But now that it’s here it seems that I can’t remember how to function without it.
Your soup looks great, even with a different melon. Glad you liked it!
The information about the melon was interesting. I agree with you about the online cooking group, there is so many things to learn and fun to compare notes with the other bloggers.
Tricia and I have had lots of fun with this, and we love to compare our own thoughts on the
recipes. I love the way you prepared the soup for breakfast with the prosciutto toast,
looks delicious.
What a great find, the Galia melon! I had never seen them before. This was definitely a great breakfast item, and I love the pairing with the prosciutto.
It was interesting to try something different, but in the end I think I like cantaloupe better. Unfortunately it is not always available here so at times I have to make do with something else, and the Galia melon certainly was not a bad substitute.
Glad you were able to squeeze this one in, and your prosciutto toast looks delicious!
Looks like you created a great meal! The saltiness of the prosciutto would have nicely complimented the sweetness of the melon berry soup. I’ve never seen that type of melon, I thought it was honey dew!
I love your breakfast menu of this soup with the prosciutto toasts. Imagining the combo makes my mouth water. I love Galia melons. A wedge of melon is a usual part of my summer breakfast, and sometimes it’s a Galia. Glad you have your internet connection back. I have to practice being unplugged now that I have a SmartPhone. It’s sort of sad.
It IS hard being without the internet! Breakfast was a good idea.
What a lovely pairing! And I love your discovery of a new melon 🙂
Nice idea, pairing it with the prosciutto toast! I think this soup is pretty versatile – I can imagine it served in different ways throughout the day.