Don’t look further than no-cook cold rucola soup on sweltering summer days.

I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but temperatures are well into the thirties (Celsius, round about 90 plus degrees Fahrenheit) locally it’s that time of the year even the most dedicated home cook dreads to turn on the oven.

Used to hot summers, the Mediterranean cuisine thankfully is the perfect solution, with lots of great recipes that require no or only minimal cooking.

Gazpacho is a traditional cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables typically based on tomatoes. The dish is mostly associated with the southern part of Spain – and often referred to as Andalusian Gazpacho – but it was actually mentioned in ancient Roman and Greek literature already.

And of course, the Italian cuisine also turns to chilled food during the summer months.

This cold rucola soup does only require the vegetable broth to be cooked, and then chilled (or you could use store bought vegetable stock, so you can at least skip the cooking at home). All other ingredients will be blended raw.

Assembled in just few minutes, this is one of my favourite dishes on scorching summer days.

Recipe: Rucola Gazpacho (Cold Rucola Soup)

Serves 4

2 bunches of rucola / rocket
1 avocado, halved, peeled, and seed removed
500 ml buttermilk
500 ml vegetable broth, chilled
1 bunch radish, finely sliced
4 stalks of basil leaves
salt and pepper

Place rocket, avocado, buttermilk, and vegetable broth in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour though a fine sieve. Chill until needed, but at least for one hour.

Just before serving, season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with radish and basil.