As East Coast temperatures top 100 degrees and I’m convinced that I really could fry an egg on the sidewalk, I’ve started to reconsider my dinner options. While tired of take-out, I’m far from thrilled by the prospect of standing over a hot stove in my simmering kitchen. As refreshing as that half-gallon of rocky road ice cream in my freezer seems, I doubt that it will tide me over until morning.

Around the time that I reach for a box of breakfast cereal, I remember two magical words – cold soup. Sometimes referred to as “liquid salads,” chilled vegetable soups provide the perfect way to cool off on sultry summer nights.

From Spain comes icy gazpacho. Introduced by Arab occupiers sometime between the eighth and thirteenth centuries, this familiar crimson soup began as a cream colored, garlic- and bread-based peasant food. To make the original gazpacho, cooks would pound stale bread, garlic, olive oil, and salt together in a mortar. They then added water to reach the desired consistency and splashed in vinegar for a tart, invigorating taste.

I make the modern incarnation of this soup, ajo blanco, not with a mortar and pestle but in my food processor. I simply toss in blanched almonds, garlic, bread, olive oil, salt, sherry vinegar and water and pulse the ingredients together until they’re finely chopped. I then refrigerate the soup until chilled. Served with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sliced grapes or chopped nuts on top, ajo blanco remains one of my favorite ways to chill out on a hot night.

There is something about a white soup – its cool color and smooth texture – that seems especially soothing. That’s why, along with ajo blanco, I often blend together such simple, yogurt-based fare as tarator and cacik.

Hailing from Bulgaria and with variations in Albania and the Republic of Macedonia, tarator is made from plain yogurt, garlic, cucumbers, walnuts, and olive oil. Thinned with cold water, tarator is served chilled and may even contain chips of ice.

Turkey has a similar summer dish, cacik. Akin to Greece’s tzatziki, cacik acts not only as a soup but also as a salad or dip. Comprised of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, salt and dried dill or mint, it’s served in small, chilled bowls. In a further effort to beat the heat, it may also include ice cubes.

On days when temperatures soar into the triple digits and my exhausted air conditioner concedes to the heat, I no longer have to reach for take-out menus, cold cereal or ice cream for my meals. Thanks to chilled soups, I now have allies in the battles against my steaming kitchen and the oppressive weather.

CACIK
Serves 4

1 pint plain yogurt
2 cucumbers, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried mint
two sprigs of fresh dill, finely chopped
1 to 2 cups ice water
handful of ice cubes, for serving

Add the cucumbers, garlic, mint and dill to the yogurt and whisk to combine. Dilute the mixture with the water until the desired consistency is reached. Whip with a whisk again. Pour into small, chilled bowls and toss an ice cube or two into each bowl before serving.