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3 Using an immersion blender or transferring the mixture to a food processor (in batches if necessary), blend the soup until just a few chunks of squash and ham are still visible in the puree. Add the buttermilk and stir to incorporate. Serve in large bowls, and as a final touch, loosely stir a tablespoon of buttermilk into each, leaving a trail of white. Season with a grind of black pepper.

WHITE GAZPACHO

serves 6 • TIME: 20 minutes preparation, 30 minutes refrigeration

Nothing breaks the heat of a South Carolina summer like a cool, pale green “white” gazpacho served in a ceramic bowl beaded with condensation. Cucumbers are the main ingredient, enriched with yogurt and spiced with a little fresh garlic and jalapeño. We love to jazz up the colors of the soup—and give it a dash of sweetness—with a garnish of red tomato salsa.

3 medium tomatoes (about 1 pound)

1 small yellow onion, finely diced (½ cup)

2 heaping tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (about 6 sprigs)

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, white wine vinegar, or champagne vinegar

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into large dice (about 3 cups)

2 small jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely diced (about 2 tablespoons)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup vegetable broth, homemade or store-bought

2 cups plain yogurt

1 Set a strainer over a medium bowl. Core the tomatoes, cut them in half crosswise, and using your pinkie finger, tease the seeds out of the cavities, letting them drop into the strainer. Tap the rim of the strainer against your palm for 30 seconds, until most of the flavorful gel clinging to the seeds dissolves and drips into the bowl. Discard the seeds.

2 Finely dice the tomatoes and transfer them to the bowl with the tomato water. Add the onion, cilantro, and vinegar, and toss. Season the salsa to taste with salt and black pepper, and refrigerate it. (Salsa will keep 3 days in the refrigerator.) Place the soup bowls you intend to use in the refrigerator, too.

3 Combine the cucumbers, chiles, garlic, vegetable broth, and yogurt in a food processor, and pulse until smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.

4 Divide the soup among the chilled bowls, and garnish each serving with a couple spoonfuls of the salsa.

CHILLED TOMATO SOUP

serves 4 • TIME: 20 minutes

There’s really no fruit or vegetable that compares to a tomato ripened on the vine, is there? Its freshness, assertiveness, and multidimensional fruity/acidic/sweet profile has more in common with a glass of wine than with a cucumber or a kiwi. We like to put the tomato’s unique personality front and center with this super-minimal, super-simple tomato soup; just a little bit of red wine vinegar, some lightly softened onion, and a few pinches of smoked paprika ensure that it’s dinner rather than dessert. A burstingly ripe heirloom variety of tomato, like a Yoder’s German Yellow, would be ideal for this recipe, but any vine-ripened tomato (most grocery stores carry them these days, a few vivid fruits clinging to a snippet of vine) will work perfectly. Serve the soup with hot buttered toast cut into points.

2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 6 tomatoes)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

⅛ teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ cup whole or lowfat buttermilk (optional; omit for a vegan-friendly recipe)

Chopped fresh herbs, for garnish (whatever is available, such as chives, lovage, celery tops, or basil)

Best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish (see Notes on Finishing)

1 Set a strainer over a bowl. Core the tomatoes, cut them in half crosswise, and using your pinkie finger, tease the seeds out of the cavities, letting them drop into the strainer. Tap the rim of the strainer against your palm for 30 seconds, until most of the flavorful gel clinging to the seeds dissolves