The dog days of summer are almost behind us, but the heat remains in much of the country. It’s that time of year when days can still be humid and steamy, but nights begin to cool down. Cold soup still has huge appeal this time of year. And all three of these soups make for a simple, easy dinner or lunch and can be served cold or, if you find the weather turns, are equally good served hot.

The tomato soup takes its influence from Spain. It requires no cooking and is made from fresh tomatoes, garlic, bread, smoked paprika and vinegar. It’s a cousin of Spain’s other famed cold soup, gazpacho.

The zucchini soup uses up all those end-of-the-season squash you may find running amok in your garden. Zucchini, summer squash and patty pan squash are blended together in a simple soup.

And the third soup combines carrots and fennel in a thin broth that is light and thoroughly refreshing.

One of the best ways to elevate cold soup is to get creative about toppings and garnishes. All these soups can be topped with a simple squeeze of lemon and a grinding of pepper and coarse sea salt, or a swirl of heavy cream, yogurt or sour cream. Or, you can get a bit more ambitious and top with croutons or sauteed vegetables. For the carrot soup, I top each bowl with a simple carrot-fennel slaw to round out the flavors of the soup. The zucchini soup is garnished with thin slices of sauteed squash. And the tomato soup is finished off with chopped cucumber, basil leaves, and salted almonds. Think outside the box.

All the soups can be made a day ahead of time. Plan on letting them chill for at least three to four hours. If you choose to serve the soup hot simply reheat until simmering. Do not add the garnishes until just before serving — whether the soup is cold or hot.

A word on stocks: You can use boxed vegetable or chicken stock for these soups. If you want to make your own stock, here are a few recipes:

Cold carrot and fennel soup with carrot-fennel slaw (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)

Bright and refreshing, this carrot and fennel soup is thinner than the others but bursting with flavor. Carrots and fennel are sauteed with onion and a potato and then simmered in vegetable broth before being pureed. The soup is then strained and topped with a simple carrot and fennel slaw and dollops of sour cream or Greek yogurt. You will use one large fennel bulb in this soup — the bulb is used to make the soup and the slaw garnish and the fennel fronds — the dill-like herb that grows above fennel root are used for flavor and garnish.

The carrot and fennel slaw and garnishes:

Spanish-style smoky salmorejo. (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)

Salmorejo is similar to gazpacho but it’s made primarily with tomatoes and bread and then flavored with smoky paprika and vinegar. This is the soup for this time of year when days can still be hot and steamy and your energy for cooking and heating up the kitchen is low. Fresh garden tomatoes are grated on a cheese grater and then blended with garlic, bread, vinegar and smoky Spanish paprika. The mixture is whirled up and it’s done. Serve topped with cucumbers, almonds, lemon oil, or a wide variety of toppings. Cool, refreshing and made from start to finish in about 15 minutes.

Serves 2 as a main course and 4 as a first course.

*Smoked paprika is slightly spicy and smoky. The peppers are smoked and dried. You can substitute regular sweet paprika with a touch of hot pepper sauce. Or you can mail order it here or here.

You can use a variety of zucchini, summer squash and patty pan squash for this simple soup.

Summer squash soup. (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)

*To clean leeks, trim off the dark green part and save for stock. Slice the white and pale green sections lengthwise and clean under cold running water making sure to remove all dirt hidden in the layers. Let dry and then chop.

More favorite soup and garnish recipes:

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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