When the weather really gets to the boiling point in Jerusalem and elsewhere, my thoughts go to cold soups. Try these fan favorites when temperatures rise near your house.

Zucchini Vichyssoise

8 servings

This version is a new twist on basic vichyssoise from a food magazine.

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 ½ cups thinly sliced, white and pale green of leeks
• 8 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 ½ pounds peeled, 2-inch pieces Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 pound zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds
• 4 ½ cups water with 5 tablespoons pareve chicken soup powder
• 2 cups half-and-half
• Chopped fresh chives

1. Melt butter in a large pot. Add leeks and garlic, sauté six minutes. Add potatoes and zucchini. Saute for five minutes.
2. Add water and chicken soup powder and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
3. Pure soup in a blender in batches, then transfer to a large bowl. Mix in half-and-half, salt to taste. Refrigerate for four hours.

Garnish with chopped chives after ladling into soup bowls.

Cold Cucumber Soup

5 cups

This comes from an online Food & Wine column by chef and television personality Andrew Zimmern, with some changes by me.

• 2 ¼ pounds halved, seeded, coarsely chopped cucumbers plus ½ cup finely diced and reserved for garnish
• 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 small chopped shallot
• 1 garlic clove
• ⅓ cup loosely packed fresh dill
• ¼ cup flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine chopped cucumbers, yogurt, lemon juice, shallot, garlic, dill, parsley, tarragon and ¼ cup oil in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Season with salt and pepper, cover and refrigerate for at least eight hours.
3. Season soup and pour into bowls. Garnish with finely diced cucumbers and drizzle of olive oil.

Sybil Kaplan is a Jerusalem-based journalist, author and compiler/editor of nine kosher cookbooks. She is a food writer for North American Jewish publications, and she leads walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English.