Chilled Moroccan Cantaloupe Cooler with Orange Blossom and Fresh Mint

Chill the cantaloupe cubes in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes until very cold but not frozen solid. This is the shortcut to a thick, frosty drink without watering it down with extra ice.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 large ripe cantaloupe (about 3 pounds), peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1 1/2 cups cold whole milk
• 1/4 cup honey, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons orange blossom water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• 2 cups ice cubes
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• Ground cinnamon, for dusting

Instructions

1. Chill the cantaloupe cubes in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes until very cold but not frozen solid. This is the shortcut to a thick, frosty drink without watering it down with extra ice.
2. Bruise the mint leaves lightly between your palms to release their oils, then drop them into the blender jar.
3. Add the chilled melon, cold milk, honey, lemon juice and salt. Blend on high for 45 to 60 seconds until completely smooth and pale orange with no fibrous strands remaining.
4. Add the ice and blend again in short pulses until the drink is thick, frothy and just pourable.
5. Stir in the orange blossom water by hand at the very end rather than blending it — its perfume is volatile and blending drives much of it off.
6. Taste and adjust: melons vary widely, so add a little more honey if yours was underripe or another squeeze of lemon if it was very sweet.
7. Pour into four chilled glasses, letting the foam settle on top.
8. Dust each glass with a whisper of ground cinnamon, tuck in a mint sprig, and serve at once while it is still frosty.
9. This drink descends directly from the Moroccan melon juices poured at cafes in Marrakech and Casablanca through the hottest months, where blending fruit with milk produces something closer to a light smoothie than a thin juice. Orange blossom water, distilled from bitter orange flowers, threads through Moroccan sweets and pastries and is used with real restraint — a teaspoon too many and the drink tastes of soap rather than blossom. August cantaloupes, heavy for their size and fragrant at the stem end, are the whole point here; a mediocre melon cannot be rescued by honey, so choose carefully at the market.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 186 kcal
• Protein: 4g
• Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrates: 38g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 34g
• Sodium: 110mg