Too hot in the kitchen? Chill out with these soups.

When temperatures rise, who wants hot foods? Steaming soups are the last thing you want to start your meal with.

A huge vat of Friday night chicken soup simmering in the kitchen for several hours is more than I can bear. And then there’s all that straining and transferring — a fowl-filled steam facial when it’s 25°C is not top of my wish list.

So, for those who like to start their meal with a liquid course, the way forward is to chill. 

I'm not asking you to lie around refusing to cook, just to serve your starter cold. All cooking action can take place well in advance and all you need to do on the day is saunter to the fridge and ladle your soup into chilled bowls. 

Follow it up with room-temperature roasted meat or maybe some poached salmon and a choice of two salads max — no need to build up a sweat making several options. Finish with ice cream or sorbet and a bowl of cherries sitting on ice and you won’t break a sweat. 

In celebration of the new partnership, the JC, Cameo Kitchens and culinary school, The Cookery, are giving away some fabulous prizes. One lucky reader (and a friend) will be able to attend a day’s course at The Cookery and will receive a set of saucepans in which to make one of these delicious soups.  Two more readers will both win a set of saucepans.

To enter this competition please visit www.thejc.com/cameo

Pea & Mint Soup

You could not get more simple than this beautiful, green broth. 
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 tbsp vegetable oil
900g frozen peas
1 stock cube and 570ml water
1tsp concentrated mint sauce
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper

Method

• Gently saute the onions in a large pan until soft and sweet. Add the peas, stock and mint sauce plus a pinch of salt and pepper and simmer covered for 10 minutes, until the peas are soft. 
• Liquidise and strain through a sieve, pushing through as much as possible. 
• Return to a clean pan and bring back to the boil. Season to taste. 
• Serve chilled with tiny mint leaves for garnish. 

Leek and Potato Soup

Surprisingly, vichysoisse – with a très French name — is of questionable nationality. Some claim it to be a traditional Gallic recipe but others swear it was invented by chef Louis Diat whilst working at New York’s Ritz Carlton, as a cooling dish for his overheated diners. Either way, it’s a summertime classic. Pale and interesting, it can be made with dairy (as shown) or parev, replacing the dairy with margarine, soy milk and cream. 
Serves 4

Ingredients
55g butter
1 medium onion finely chopped
300g leeks, finely sliced
110g potatoes, peeled and sliced
salt and pepper
290 ml vegetable stock
290ml creamy milk
2 tbsp single cream (optional)
2 tbsp finely chopped chives

Method

• Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and add the onion and leek
• Sweat the vegetables for 15 minutes or so to soften but not brown them. 
• Add the potatoes, salt, pepper and the stock. Simmer until the potatoes are soft. 
• Liquidise the soup in a food processor or blender or push it through a sieve.
• Add the milk (and cream if using) and check the seasoning. Sprinkle with chives for a bit of colour. Serve chilled.