Cold Soup

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.

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.

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.

Yellow tomatoes bring a touch of sunshine to this delicious chilled soup, which can be made as spicy or as mellow as you like.

Simmering the cobs lends depth to a cool essence-of-corn soup, enhanced with a swirl of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives.

We love the games this soup plays with our senses: First, its fiery color tricks your brain into thinking it is hot, but when you take a sip, your tongue realizes the soup is cold. Then the spice of the habaneros sweeps in and deliciously complicates matters. Don't be alarmed by the number of chiles called for—habaneros' heat is complex and floral and partners perfectly with the sweetness of the red bell peppers.

The buttermilk in this soup gives it a light, tangy richness that harmonizes with the sweetness of the peas and the gentle bite of the curry. Though it looks lovely in a bowl, serve this soup in drinking glasses, to be sipped rather than spooned, for a nice change of pace.

This no-cook soup defeats the summer heat — cucumber provides crunch alongside a hint of minutest, and avocado adds mouthwatering creaminutesess.

For easy serving, ladle the soup into pretty bowls, and set them on the buffet table.

Sunday lunch. From Golden Door in Escondido, California. This soup, from The Golden Door Cooks Light & Easy (Gibbs-Smith), is stocked with a gardenful of vegetables. Look for the brightest beta-carotene beauties — golden corn, sunny yellow peppers, and ripe yellow tomatoes. Because the produce is raw, you're not cooking away any vitamins.

Watermelon is a lycopene star — 1 cup has nearly 7 milligrams of the cancer fighter. Riesling adds a refreshing crispness.

The gelatin in this refreshing dessert soup sets just enough to give it body but not bounce. All kinds of grapes work beautifully as garnishes for this soup; it's worth seeking out unusual varieties, however, for the extra character.

This creamy chilled soup will make you hope for an abundance of zucchini in your garden this year. Thin-sliced zucchini blossoms, available at produce markets and specialty foods shops, add a beautiful hint of color while lending texture to the soup's smoothness.

Crema — a Mexican cultured heavy cream similar to sour cream — is often drizzled over enchiladas and tostadas and added to side dishes and sauces. Here it lends a tangy balance to rich avocado and sweet corn.

Kia Ly Dickinson of Miami, Florida, writes: "This fragrant soup is so good you will be freaking out. It can be served hot or cold, with rice. The recipe is an ode to my homeland, Vietnam, and I'd like to share it with my new friends in America." This recipe calls for fresh lemon verbena, but you can substitute 1 stalk of fresh lemongrass if lemon verbena is unavailable. Both ingredients are sold at specialty produce markets, but lemongrass is also sold at Asian markets and some supermarkets, so it may be easier to find. If using lemongrass, discard 1 or 2 outer leaves, then thinly slice lower 6 inches of stalk. Finely chop, then sauté along with chiles and garlic.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but may require additional sitting time. Even though it might seem odd to use frozen peas during fresh pea season, they are infinitely easier to deal with than fresh peas in the pod — particularly when making a quick dish such as this soup whizzed up in a blender.