We know you can’t take it anymore, that there is still a lot of summer ahead and even more heat to come. You’re fed up with supermarket gazpacho which, on the other hand, is the only thing you can get into your body because the mere idea of cooking makes you sweat (although there are recipes that don’t even require turning on the stove). But we also know that cooking is something that not only feeds the stomach but also cheers the spirit.
It is also a very accessible tool to combat the very climate crisis we face and that is suffocating us. Starting from unprocessed or healthy processed foods allows us to have more control over the product we choose, its origin, and impact. So, since we already know that cooking only brings good things, we are going to leave you a survival guide to prepare simple things with little cooking, so you can eat well without dying trying.
This guide will include some salads, but also pasta, appetizers, and cold creams, but above all a lot of variety, colorful ingredients, and few minutes of cooking (or none); at most boiling an egg, some pasta, or a little rice. There will also be ideas with some canned goods that almost everyone has at home and a couple of desserts that are made with eyes closed and, once again, without cooking.
Salads
We already know that salad does not equal diet or hunger, we are not talking about that nonsense here. A salad can be a super complete, filling, and nutritious dish without losing any of the refreshing or summery qualities. Remember the following combination: vegetable base (green leaves, cabbages, vegetables) + something that provides satiety like legumes, pasta, rice, or other cooked cereals + an element that adds flavor and punch (like capers, pickles, olives, anchovies, cheese…) + a protein such as grilled or canned fish, grilled chicken or beef, fresh cheese or boiled egg + a tasty dressing + something crunchy (pickles, nuts). From here, creativity and the pantry will do their thing, but you already know that with these elements you will always have a complete and nutritious dish you can call a salad.
Lately, I have been quite obsessed with a pasta salad that is made in a moment: cooked short pasta, confit cherry tomatoes, sautéed or made in the airfryer, diced eggplant well browned that I make in the pan, lots of chopped fresh basil, pesto, and some ricotta. It’s a kind of cold pasta alla norma that is amazing.
Raw: ceviches, tartares, and tiraditos
Summer is the best season for any preparation with raw fish: tartares, ceviches, or tiraditos that only require cutting, dressing, decorating, and eating. They are refreshing because they are served at refrigerator temperature and always have some acidity and liquid, and they are prepared without much complication.
Start with good fresh fish. Let your trusted fishmonger recommend you and tell them you want it for eating raw. Have it cleaned of bones and very firm. Here you have a guide to avoid complications with anisakis or other microorganisms, but in summary, make sure to freeze the fish for five days at -20 ºC and thaw it in the fridge, keep it cold until the moment of eating, and work on very clean surfaces.
The best fish for eating raw are blue fish, with somewhat firmer flesh. Common ones are bonito or tuna, salmon or mackerel, but you can also use anchovies and sardines, snapper, lemon fish, jack mackerel, sea bass or gilt-head bream, croaker, or even large prawns. To cut them – whether in cubes or slices – it is easier if you leave them semi-frozen and use a long, sharp knife: the flesh will cut more easily.
If you make a tiradito, the dressing must provide some sweetness and acidity. A good grated tomato with oil, hot sauce, black pepper, and sherry vinegar. Or a leche de tigre, which is prepared by blending a bit of fish broth with fresh chili or chili paste, some pieces of fish, lots of cilantro, and lime and lemon juice.
You can blend some fruit – nectarine, peach, watermelon, cherries – along with vinegar or some citrus, some oil, and chili if you like. On top, add some pickles, spring onion, sesame, or some fruit cubes. The tartar or ceviche format is also very versatile. It can be served with rice, like a donburi, with quinoa or another cooked cereal, with avocado, peas, or blanched edamame…
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Cold creams
Beyond gazpacho or salmorejo, there is a world of cold creams to discover and almost all of them are prepared without needing to cook anything. We have seen over and over the idea of adding some fruit to gazpacho, but it never hurts to remember this very simple way to tweak a classic we don’t want to get tired of. Try adding cherries, watermelon, or peach or some other vegetable. It goes especially well with beetroot – which you can cook or buy cooked to make it creamier, but raw works just as well – so you know what to do with them next time you see them at the greengrocer’s.
There are very effective recipes for cold creams made with canned asparagus or cooked corn. The latter is made by blending very well three drained cans of cooked corn, ½ spring onion, ½ peeled cucumber, half a clove of garlic, salt, vinegar, and some extra virgin olive oil. You can make a cold cream even with the almost wilted lettuce you have left in the fridge, here we leave you the recipe.
When we talk about cold creams, legumes can also be your allies. Add some cooked legumes to any of them to add creaminess, plant protein, and satiety. Ajo blanco goes wonderfully with a can of cooked white beans, for example.
Cold Asian noodles
We already know very well what ramen is – which can also be served cold – but there are more noodle dishes in Asian cuisine that we have yet to discover and, luckily for our 40,000 °C average summer temperature in the shade, there are many cold options. Recently, we posted the recipe for Bibim Guksu, Korean noodles with gochujang sauce, cucumber, and egg that are prepared in about 10 minutes.
Kongguksu, also Korean, come with a tofu or soy sauce; and Naengmyeon, thin buckwheat or kudzu flour noodles served in a nearly slushy broth, with some toppings like meat, cucumber, or kimchi. To prepare them, buckwheat noodles are cooked, rinsed with cold water to stop cooking and lower their temperature. They are placed in a bowl and served with meat and vegetable broth freshly taken from the freezer, so it is a bit slushy, and finished with cucumber strips, hard-boiled egg, and toasted sesame.
In Thailand, they prepare noodles called Yum Woon Sen, a super refreshing salad made with glass noodles – usually soy – that is spicy, salty, sweet, sour, and crunchy. It has lots of vegetables, chives, cilantro, cooked shrimp and pork, and a dressing made with fish sauce, lime, and sugar, very, very addictive.
In Japan, they serve buckwheat noodles in summer with very cold dashi broth or with a sauce, the Zaru Soba. In China, there are also some options like Liang Pi, noodles made from steamed wheat gluten (although they can be made with vermicelli-type rice noodles, easier to find). They are served with a vinaigrette of rice vinegar, dark soy sauce, and spicy oil, lots of cilantro and peanuts, some raw vegetables, and omelet.
A couple of desserts
Fortunately, there are many ways to end a meal with something sweet without needing to turn on the oven. Any preparation with fresh fruit is a good start. Cups of cream or mascarpone cream layered with seasonal fruit, some chocolate, and nuts; or with homemade granola and pastry cream… Granitas or homemade ice creams are also great options. We have made them with coffee, frozen fruit, miso and caramel, and even with fewer than four ingredients and no ice cream maker. Different versions of no-bake cakes are a good resource: lime and pistachio, cheese and raspberry, or red fruits. Whatever it is, as long as we don’t miss dessert, no matter how August it is.
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