Vegan

These little biscuits pair especially well with mild-flavored soups featuring cauliflower or broccoli, but they are compatible with most any kind of vegetable soup.

Although this excellent traditional Italian bread is yeasted, it does not take as long to make as other yeasted breads, since it requires only one rather brief rising. If you are making a long-simmering soup, this bread will likely fit into the time frame. It’s a natural pairing with Italian-style soups such as Minestrone (page 50), but it’s good with most any tomato-based soup.

These offbeat little griddle biscuits pair well with bean soups, purees, and soups that feature root vegetables.

For success with this soup, don’t settle for less than luscious, tree-ripened peaches. Avoid peaches that are bought rock-hard, only to ripen to flavorless mush after several days of waiting.

This tasty bread goes well with many soups. Try it with mixed vegetable, tomato-based, and bean soups.

Here’s an unusual bread that teams beautifully with many kinds of soup. Try this with anything from hearty bean soups to light, brothy ones. Use your favorite kind of olive; it works well with most any variety.

This moist cornbread is an ideal companion to bean soups and chilis.

Requiring no cooking and no blending, this soup takes full advantage of the lush fruits of midsummer.

Try serving this offbeat pan bread, studded with pink beans and scallions, with hearty vegetable soups and stews. I especially like this with soups that feature corn and/or squash.

It takes minutes to make this sweet soup. Try serving it after a meal rather than before—it’s a wonderful palate cooler after a spicy meal. Or it can be the main event at lunch on a hot summer day, served with blueberry muffins.

A perfect dessert soup to make in July, when melons are at their sweetest. This makes a refreshing finish to a grilled meal.

This super-quick no-cook soup is delicious enough to serve as a dessert.

Enjoy the convergence of strawberries and midsummer berries in a sweetly spiced broth.

A collection of vegetarian soups wouldn’t be complete without this Spanish classic. It’s especially delicious topped with Garlic Croutons (page 159).

A quick and easy no-cook soup, this is remarkably refreshing on a hot summer day. It’s best eaten on the same day as it is made, since avocado discolors and does not keep well under refrigeration once peeled. This soup makes a great opener for a Southwestern-style meal of burritos, enchiladas, or the like.

This and the following berry soup are the only fruit soups in this chapter that need a bit of cooking. The wine and spices give it a wonderfully complex flavor.

A splendid no-cook soup that will awaken taste buds dulled by summer heat. This soup can be eaten as soon as it is made, but definitely benefits from having time to stand for several hours so that the lively flavors can mingle. This soup is a great first course for a Mexican or Southwestern-style meal.

An appetizing soup designed to impress summer guests—or your own family!

With the help of a food processor, this tasty, no-cook soup will be ready to eat in minutes. Serve with stone-ground tortilla chips or warmed flour tortillas.

The peppery flavor of watercress provides a delightful contrast to the sweetness of summer corn.