I’ve been wanting to make watermelon agua fresca for the longest time. Although it sounds wildly exotic, it’s quite simply watermelon juice. But don’t let the simplicity fool you – it’s wonderfully good. A few restaurants have it here in San Jose however it is my laziness that hasn’t allowed me to make it at home.

I wish I could say there was a recipe for this but it’s just pureed and strained watermelon. If you wish to sweeten it, you can add a bit of sugar or honey. You can also add a squeeze of lime for a few bruised mint leaves for added flavor.

I don’t have a food processor so I once again turned to my trusty stick blender. It makes the process take a lot longer and ultimately it was so very, very messy. By the time my pitcher was full of watermelon juice, my t-shirt needed to be wrung out :-)

I ended up adding about a cup of water in total during the blending process. The water helped the blender to get the magic started. After you puree the melon, strain it through a fairly fine mesh sieve. I have a very small one so this didn’t help speed things along either. You’ll find that there is quite a bit of pulp. The remaining juice is a vibrant deep pink color, so beautiful.

Serve icy cold and enjoy. For the adults, maybe add a splash of vodka as well :-)

Now that summer is nearing an end, the prices of watermelons are very cheap. I purchased a gigantic one for $3.48 and I used it for every recipe I am publishing this week (plus there is still a piece in the fridge). So, grab a melon while they last and try your hand at agua fresca!