Watermelon Gazpacho with Shaved Feta

Add 1 cup seedless watermelon cubes to the carafe of a blender with the garlic, chile pepper, lemon juice and sea salt. This is the base of the soup.
Blend from low to high speed until very smooth – 30 seconds.
Pour the base into a medium sized bowl.

Add the cucumbers, tomatoes, vadalia onions and olive oil to the carafe.”Pulse” by turning blender speed from low to medium until the veggies are chopped, but still a bit chunky with texture.
Pour into the soup base.

Cut remaining 3 cups of watermelon cubes into 1/2″ pieces.
Place them in a fine mesh strainer and press on the fruit, releasing much of its water*.
You will have approximately 1 1/2 cups of watermelon remaining.
Add this to the bowl and stir all together.

Cover tightly and refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours.

Make Garnishes: They are part of the soup!
To Serve: Place a cup of soup in individual bowls. Top with a portion of extra watermelon, cucumbers and tomatoes.
Grate feta cheese and scatter 1 tablespoon on each soup.
Garnish with mint sprigs – consider topping with thinly sliced mint leaves as well.

*This is done so the soup is not to watery – if all watermelon is added to the blender it will not have the correct consistency.

Note: I store spicy aji chile peppers (Peruvian hot pepper) in my freezer, and use what I need. Can use any spicy fresh red chiles to your taste, or cayenne pepper.