Cold Soup

I love coming home with friends from a steamy day at the beach knowing that I've got a batch of cold tomato soup ready. I dish it up, swirl in a tablespoon of vibrant green arugula pesto, and pass it around. We sit on the porch and savor the flavor of sun-sweetened summer tomatoes enhanced with a touch of cream and a nip of vodka. The rest of dinner will come later, but for now, we're assuaging our hunger, chatting, laughing, and reliving the events of the day. This is a great make-ahead soup. In fact, it becomes more flavorful with age. Although I like it cold, it's equally good heated. If storm clouds gather and the temperature plunges, take the soup from refrigerator to stove, heat it up, and serve it in mugs.

This tangy marriage of fresh tomato, cucumber, pepper, and onion is a summer favorite. The flavor of gazpacho improves if allowed to chill overnight, but thereafter this soup has a short shelf life because the tomatoes sour very quickly. It this best prepared no more than a day or two before it will be eaten.

Borscht is one of those soups that has dozens of variations. This version of the classic Russian beet soup uses lots of vegetables and a touch of bacon for extra flavor. You can leave the bacon out and use vegetable broth if you prefer a vegetarian soup. Grating the beets into the soup releases maximum beet flavor. Though this recipe calls for the borscht to be served hot, it is also delicious when served cold.

Avocado pureed with buttermilk (low-fat) and yogurt (with the cream on top) yields a pale green soup laced with masses of minced herbs, textured with cucumber, and garnished with slivered radishes, herbs, and green pistachios. All in all, it's a fine soup for a hot day, and although the recipe makes just a scant quart, it will be enough for four or more servings.

Cool to the eye as well as on the palate, this gazpacho-like starter gets its body and buttery undertones from cashews. Yes, the Cubanelle pepper was initially chosen for its starting letter, but its mild sweetness and juicy crunch clinched the decision.

Celebrate the last of the hot weather with a spirited, chunky gazpacho in the Mexican mode. Tomatoes give the soup their characteristic rich, rounded flavor, and tomatillos—an Aztec and Mayan staple—lend fruity tartness and great body.

The inspiration for test kitchen director Ruth Cousineau’s velvety chilled bean soup comes from Mediterranean-cooking authority Claudia Roden's recipe for bissara, an Egyptian bean-and-herb purée. The beans here are lima and green, simmered in chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth if you want to go vegetarian) and then puréed until silky. The herbs—parsley, cilantro, dill, and mint—are blended with olive oil so that you can finish the soup with a verdant drizzle, but don’t think of the herb oil as merely a garnish: Its bright flavor brings everything together.

Ripe summer tomatoes are perfect just as they are. Simply chop them up, mix with jarred peppers and a few other ingredients, and you've got dinner. For a vegetarian supper, round out the meal with an assortment of cheeses and crackers. Craving something a little more substantial? A platter of smoked salmon, relishes, and breadsticks would be great with the soup. For dessert, offer figs drizzled with honey.

This velvety soup has no cream except for the little bit of sour cream that's spooned on top. It's perfect for summer entertaining: All of the components can be prepared a day ahead.

In the Greek soup known as avgolemono ("ahv-go-LEH-mo-no"), humble ingredients—chicken broth, lemon juice, eggs, a small amount of rice—morph into a light soup with the consistency of liquid velvet. Although avgolemono is traditionally served hot, it's an especially summery starter when chilled and seasoned with lots of dill.

Vichyssoise (pronounced vih-shee-swazh) is a cold potato and leek soup. This version adds the pure flavor of asparagus, along with a hint of mint.

Two of summer's tastiest offerings help you spoon up more of the skin-saving antioxidant lycopene.

Be anything but crabby after enjoying this sunny citrus bisque. You'll net half your daily folate needs per bowl.

Editor's note: This refreshing soup is part of a healthy and delicious spa menu developed exclusively for Epicurious by CuisinArt Resort & Spa on Rendezvous Bay in Anguilla. Cooling cucumber and melons—which are in the same botanical family—are good sources of a wide range of nutrients, including vitamins C and B6 and folate. Fresh herbs provide a burst of flavor as well as powerful antioxidants. Ginger, garlic, and hot sauce have potent anti-inflammatory properties. Starting your meal with a low-calorie, fiber-rich soup like this one can help fill you up and prevent overeating. Note: You can substitute cooked lobster or prawns for the shrimp, or make the recipe vegetarian by omitting the seafood altogether.

This is one of my favorite soups. It has to be served really cold so that you can appreciate the buttermilk and yogurt tang and the sharpness they add to the cucumbers. The Tabasco is optional, but I recommend it to give a little kick at the end; it won't register as spicy, but you'll miss it if it's not there.

Try to buy ripe tomatoes or let them ripen in a paper bag with an apple for two days.

A no-cook soup that's as effortless as it is elegant embodies everything we look for in a summer dish. The sweet honey and sharp vinegar are natural extensions of summertime tomatoes' flavor.

Trim the tops and tails of the beets to 1 inch.