Cool It: Easy Summer Recipes To Combat The Summer Heat

By the time summer rolls around, I turn to those tried-and-true recipes that will help me keep my kitchen (and my grumpiness) from overheating, while keeping my family cool and well fed. If the recipe does not fit that criteria, there’s a pretty good chance I won’t be making it until autumn rolls around.

The heat of summer brings natural cravings for foods that are light enough to satisfy, yet refreshing enough to revitalize. My go-to dishes are those made from the season’s beautiful summer produce, and I let the crops of the season guide me toward the tastiest and freshest meals. Farmers’ markets, farm stands, and pick-your-own orchards are all great places to obtain ripe, seasonal fruit and vegetables that don’t require too much fussing to achieve excellent results. 

Don’t be afraid to change up your menu routines. The summer is the best time to take a break from heavier recipes you make the rest of the year. Chilled cold soups make for a refreshing appetizer on a hot Shabbos afternoon (or night), and for many recipes, it’s as simple as throwing all the ingredients into the blender or food processor until pureed, avoiding any heat produced in the kitchen. Citrus juices, sugar, honey, fresh mint or basil leaves, and white wine are all good additions. You can adjust and season to taste since not all fruits are created equally sweet or ripe. There is a very fine line between chilled fruit soup and a smoothie, so don’t make it too cloyingly sweet. Savory herbs or a dollop of yogurt or cream (for dairy meals) will help balance the sweetness (as in the recipe for Minted Cantaloupe Soup below).

One of my family’s favorite summer soups is a traditional chilled stone fruit soup. “Stone fruit” refers to any summer fruit with a single large pit in the center, which includes peaches, plums, nectarines, and cherries. All delicious, but even more so when cooked in combinations, delivering a complex balance of sweet and tart nuances. Fresh fruit soup is easy to cook but does require time to prep the fruit; peaches need to be peeled, pitted, and sliced; cherries need to be stemmed and pitted. It is for this reason that I consider it a “labor of love.” I generally only make it with a large quantity of fruit so that I can have extra to freeze for the future. I take the long view with large batch cooking. An investment of preparation now saves me valuable time later! The good news is that fruit soups freeze beautifully for months, so if you make a big pot of fruit soup, it will take you through the entire summer. Add whole spices like cinnamon stick, cloves, or star anise to create exceptional aromas wafting throughout the house, and for good measure, add a healthy glug of white wine. Then put some in your soup too!

Minted Cantaloupe Soup

Melons are a great mildly sweet base for fruit soup. I enjoy using honeydew for a slightly different but equally delicious flavor. 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 ripe cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)

20 fresh mint leaves (from about 3-4 sprigs)

2-3 teaspoons chopped fresh gingerroot

2-3 tablespoons honey, or more to taste

1/4 cup white wine 

Yogurt or heavy cream, for drizzling 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients (except yogurt) in a blender. Process until smooth. Chill well and serve garnished with a swirl of yogurt or cream and fresh mint.

Note: stir again before serving, the ingredients separate a bit as they settle.

Chilled Stone Fruit Soup

Pitting the fruit is most of the work in making his soup. A cherry pitter is a worthwhile investment to consider to save time and mess!

Serves 12

Ingredients:

5 pounds ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

3 pounds ripe black or red plums, pitted and sliced

3 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 cup sugar or more to taste

1-pound sweet dark cherries, stemmed and pitted 

1/2 cup white wine

Directions:

Place peaches, plums, water, cinnamon sticks, and 1/2 cup sugar in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until fruit has collapsed into a sauce and is tender. Add cherries and wine and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes. Season to taste, adding more sugar as needed. Remove from heat and allow to cool and then refrigerate stored in a large container.  Remove cinnamon stick prior to serving. Serve chilled.

Note: Peaches can be peeled with a peeler if very firm; alternatively, soft ripe peaches can be blanched and then submerged in an ice bath to facilitate the skins easily slipping off. n

Naomi Ross is a cooking instructor and food writer based in Woodmere, NY.  She teaches classes throughout the country and writes articles connecting good cooking and Jewish inspiration.  Her first cookbook, The Giving Table, was released in December 2022. Follow her at @naomirosscooks on Instagram/FB/TikTok or visit NaomiRossCooks.com.