Consider cooling off with chilled summer soups

The sun is at its hottest right now in the north country, and we know it.

It is steamy here in Vermont, punctuated with thunderstorms and cloudbursts, rainbows and mud puddles. A typical summer, although perhaps it feels a bit more extreme. The humidity and heat can dampen even the most ardent cook’s enthusiasm, so a day without turning on the stove is definitely the way to go.

This is when I look for a cold lunch or dinner. In just a few minutes, you can have a stash of chilled summer soup waiting for you on these hot summer days. No pots or pans, one blender and a canning jar for storage. What could be easier? And even the chilled soups that require cooking can be made ahead, waiting for your appetite in the refrigerator.

Salads or chilled soups fill the bill, and gazpacho is one of our favorites. It’s a snack. It’s a lunch. Dress it up just a bit, and it’s dinner or a starter for a feast with company.

Gazpacho is traditionally a Spanish soup made with stale bread or nuts whirled in a mix of tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, peppers, onions, oil and vinegar. However, many prefer it without the bread for a cleaner, fresher flavor. I’m included in that group. And I don’t use nuts because of food allergies in the family.

This recipe makes exactly enough to fill a 2-quart canning jar for easy storage in the refrigerator. No cooking, a little measuring, and you have instant meals for a few days. All you need to do is feed raw foods into the blender or food processor, chill, and that’s it.

Process as you desire, but you want a little texture, not a smoothie. If you want it chunky, process the garlic and onion in the tomato juice first so that they are less apparent in the final product and dispersed more evenly. No one wants to bite into a big chunk of raw garlic.

Use any tomato you have in abundance whether cherry, plum or big meaty beefsteak.

If you don’t have enough fresh tomatoes yet, use a can of organic San Marzano whole tomatoes. I often want this once the weather turns really hot but before the local tomatoes start making their appearance, just about now. Soon, all the ingredients will be available locally.

Make it your own. If you love the flavor of peppers the best, increase the amount. Same with the tomatoes or cucumbers. I like it spicy, so I use one or two hot peppers and usually add a bit of cayenne as well. You can omit them if you don’t want the heat, remove the seeds, or increase it, or use a hotter pepper. Just taste as you go and make it yours.

I have included approximations here, but this is one of those dishes that really is about technique and not precise measurements. If you have a lot of tomatoes, use more, if you love cucumbers, add more of those. No onions? Use scallions or leeks. What else do you have on hand? Arugula (yum)? Chard or spinach greens? Watercress?

Look for all organic veggies from your farmers market or farm stand. They will be the freshest and the most delicious. And if you haven’t noticed this already, because they are so much fresher, they last longer in your refrigerator so there is less waste.

You don’t have to be precise here in your chopping, make it fun. Just a rough cut is fine since it will be all processed, so don’t fiddle, just get them small enough to blend but large enough to not be tiring. After all, in this heat, you need to conserve your energy.

To take the flavor one step further, grill all the veggies first, then process. This is how I often do it, tossing on extra veggies while the grill is hot after a cookout. The smoky flavor is amazing.

Since you are not spending time cooking, you can definitely spend a little time fussing with your garnish. Small dice of some of the veggies in the soup are nice; add some herbs and edible flowers for a flourish.

To dress it up if you are making it a full meal, add a bit of crabmeat, toasted tofu or some grilled shrimp for a festive touch.

If you don’t mind doing a little cooking, a chilled vichyssoise (potato leek soup) is another big-batch soup that you can enjoy over the course of multiple meals. Traditionally made with potatoes, leeks, butter and heavy cream, I’ve lightened this substantially to be more healthful.

You’ll still use a bit of potato for the flavor, but fennel will share the spotlight. Instead of cream, light coconut milk will give rich deliciousness.

A bonus is that those who can’t consume dairy will love both these soups, as can vegans and everyone else.

Of course, it’s best to serve cold soup in chilled bowls, so tuck them in the refrigerator or freezer when you set the soup in to chill.

Spicy Summer Gazpacho

Coarsely chop:

• 1 quart chopped tomatoes (or a 28-oz can tomatoes and their juice, chopped)
• 1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia, chopped
• 1 English cucumber, all parts
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 stalk celery
• 1-2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, seeds optional

Put everything in a large bowl and add:

• 1 cup organic tomato or vegetable juice, low sodium
• 1/4 cup parsley or cilantro
• 1/4 cup fruity extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup sherry or cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground pepper

Mix it up and process in your food processor or blender until the desired consistency. You may have to do this in batches.

Chill at least four hours. Adjust seasoning after it has set; you might need more salt. Served in chilled bowls or glasses.

Dress up for dinner; this makes a lovely dinner with a little pile of Maine crabmeat nestled on top — our family’s favorite — or a succulent grilled shrimp or two. Roasted tofu is quite at home in this soup as well, as is a nice little mound of more cucumbers and tomatoes.

Potato, leek and fennel vichyssoise

My late mother-in-law Pat Read was one of the best chefs I’ve ever known, and I learned lots from her. She owned two splendid restaurants, The Three Clock Inn in Londonderry and The Buttery in Manchester, a tourist and ski Mecca, and on her menu was an extremely popular traditional Vichyssoise (rhymes with Oz please) — thick, rich, with abundant potato and leek flavor, and a creaminess that was addictive.

It was one of my husband’s favorites, and Pat would often send him home with a vat of this soup. Although it was chilled, something one wanted on a humid day, I can’t honestly say it was refreshing since it was quite rich beyond belief. Delicious, yes, but one could almost feel the arteries harden on the spot from the heavy cream alone, not to mention the potato carbs and the butter. But eating it was an experience.

I fiddled with her recipe for a long time, swapping out different vegetables from cauliflower to fennel and came up with a version that uses just a potato, no cream and very little butter. It still tastes remarkable like the original, but with much less guilt, and it’s more refreshing.

The bonus is that the farmstands and farmers markets have lots of early fennel right now, tops and all, so you can easily make this soup with a quick stock made from all the trimmings to add more flavor to the dish.

While Pat’s original Vichyssoise was a pure white, mine is a little on the green side since I use both the white and light green of the leeks and the fennel is pale green as well. I think she would forgive this, especially if she tasted it on a steamy late June day.

In a large stock pot, sauté until tender:

• 2 large or 3 medium fennel bulbs, chopped
• 2 large leeks, chopped, whites and some of the light green
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter or vegan butter

Once the vegetables have started to soften, add:

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 star anise
• 2 bay leaves

Let these all get to know each other until fragrant, just a few minutes, then add:

• 1 large potato, white or yellow, chopped
• water or vegetable stock to cover the potatoes

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until everything is tender. Let cool a bit, then put through a food processor or food mill to make a thick purée. Thin this out with:

• 1 can lite coconut milk or evaporated skim milk

Chill for several hours, but overnight is best. Place in a shallow chilled bowl and garnish with chives or fennel fronds, free with the fennel bulbs.

If you like, top with a protein such as seared scallops.

Note: I usually do all my vegetable prep early and toss all the trimmings, including those fennel stems and fronds, into a pot with a little more than a quart of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and use instead of water. This adds some flavor that would normally be tossed in the compost bucket. However, just water works fine, too.