About This Recipe
Agua de sandia is the lightest, most cooling thing you can put on a hot-weather table: blended watermelon, water, a squeeze of lime, barely sweetened. It is the second agua fresca on the shelf for a reason, a different color and a softer flavor than the tart Jamaica, so the two read as a pair.
When the fire is going and the sun is high, this is the pour people refill. It is gentle enough for kids, clean enough to drink all afternoon, and it makes the smoke and char of the tri tip feel even bigger by contrast.
The recipe
Agua de Sandía (Watermelon Cooler)
Blended watermelon agua fresca, the lightest pour on the table. Cold, faintly sweet, and made for a hot day around the fire.
Ingredients
- 6 cups cubed seedless watermelon
- 3 cups cold water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar, optional
- Ice and mint, to serve
Instructions
Blend the watermelon with 1 cup of the water until smooth.
Note Ripe summer watermelon is sweet enough that you may not need any sugar at all. Taste first.
Strain into a pitcher, add the remaining water and the lime juice, and sweeten only if it needs it.
Note The lime keeps it from tasting flat. Watermelon without acid reads dull.
Serve very cold over ice with a sprig of mint.
Note Make it the same day. Watermelon agua fresca is best fresh and loses its color and snap overnight.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving
- Calories
- 60
- Protein
- 1 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Sat. Fat
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 15 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 5 mg
- Cholesterol
- 0 mg
Values are estimates based on standard ingredients and serving sizes.