Beat the Summer Heat with These Chilled Soups

• 1½ pounds peeled, seeded cantaloupe, diced
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• ½ cup walnuts
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 6 ounces cooked bay shrimp

Blend cantaloupe, breadcrumbs, walnuts and garlic until smooth. Add oil, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt, and purée until smooth. Transfer to large bowl, and whisk in buttermilk. Add salt, to taste. Pass through medium strainer, and chill in refrigerator.

Serve in shallow bowls, topped with shrimp and drizzled with olive oil. Serves 4.

Troon 2016 Cuvée Rolle Vermentino (Applegate Valley). Louis suggests this natural wine from her fellow Oregonians at Troon Vineyards. Co-fermentation with 10% Marsanne adds white peach and melon flavors to the green fruit of this Vermentino. Despite its youth, it’s smooth and well integrated, with a touch of vanilla cream on the finish.

• 1 pound green tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs, soaked in ½ cup water
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1½ cups packed baby spinach
• Salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 8 ounces fresh king crab meat

Blend tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, garlic, breadcrumbs and ¼ cup olive oil until smooth. Add spinach and lemon juice, and purée until silky. Add salt, to taste. Refrigerate.

Serve in shallow bowls topped with crab and drizzled with remaining olive oil. Serves 4.

Dürnberg 2017 Tradition Reserve Grüner Veltliner (Weinviertel); $18, 92 points. “Grüner does translate to green,” says Seth Wilson, head sommelier at Booth One. “This wine exhibits fresh lime and youthful orchard fruits, but resting on its lees for 10 months gives it a beautiful yeastiness to complement the breadcrumbs blended into the soup. Secondary flavors of cucumber, white radish and white pepper heighten the savory, spicy and herbaceous flavors.”

• 1 cup blanched almonds
• 1 clove garlic
• 1¼ cups fresh breadcrumbs, soaked in 1 cup water
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil (preferably Spanish)
• 1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 2 ounces ikura (cured salmon roe), or other fish roe
• 1 tablespoon minced chives

Blend almonds, garlic, breadcrumbs and olive oil until smooth. As blender runs, add vinegar, salt and 1 cup water. Purée until smooth. Pass through fine-mesh strainer. Chill in refrigerator.

Serve in small bowls, topped with ikura and sprinkled with chives. Serves 4.

Txomin Etxaniz 2016 Getaria (Getariako Txakolina). “This is a crisp, mineral-driven white wine from Basque Country, where I lived,” says Chang. “It’s refreshing, due to its slightly effervescent quality, especially when poured from a high height, as they do in that part of Spain. It pairs very nicely with creamy dishes and seafood, and is a wonderful start to a meal.”

• 6 ears corn
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus moreto taste
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• ½ cup crème fraîche
• ½ cup fine-grated Manchego cheese
• ¼ cup Thai basil leaves, torn into small pieces
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Scrape corn kernels off cobs. In large saucepan, submerge cobs in 6 cups water, milk, sugar and salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Strain, and reserve stock. Refrigerate until cold.

Place 4 serving bowls in freezer, to chill.

Blend corn kernels, crème fraîche and 1½ cups corn stock until smooth. Add salt and/or sugar, to taste. Pass through medium strainer. Serve immediately in chilled bowls. Top with Manchego, Thai basil and drizzle of olive oil. Serves 4.

Nigl 2016 Freiheit Grüner Veltliner (Niederösterreich). “A youthful and vibrant white wine like this is a great foil for Ford’s corn soup,” says Eduardo Porto Carreiro, beverage director for Ford Fry Restaurants. “The wine’s pure pear notes and hint of savory minerality perfectly complement the creamy sweetness of the chilled soup.”

• Olive oil, for pot
• 1 large white onion, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 12 ounces steamed beets, coarse-chopped
• 1 large (or 2 small) canned chipotle chile peppers
• 3 cups chicken stock
• Mexican crema
• Toasted pepitas

Heat soup pot over medium heat, and coat with olive oil. Add onion and cook until golden, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, oregano and salt. Cook 1 minute, then add chile, beets and stock. Bring to simmer, and cook 15 minutes.

Blend until smooth. Add adobo sauce from chipotle can, if desired. Pass through fine-mesh strainer. Chill in refrigerator.

Serve soup topped with dollop of crema and pinch of pepitas. Serves 4.

Lechuza 2015 Chardonnay Acero Inoxidable (Valle de Guadalupe). “This Chardonnay is stirred on the lees prior to filtration, giving it a slight creaminess that complements its lean, bright character,” says Lucien Conner, beverage director and manager at Puesto. “The wine’s crisp apple and citrus fruit draws up the sweetness of the beets, just as the wine’s acidity cuts it back. The minerality—typical of Valle de Guadalupe terroir—teases out a pleasing touch of the beets’ earthy character.