Totally Chill No-Cook Meals
I have to admit, I am a bit of a lazy cook—not sloppy, corner-cutting lazy, but lazy in in that I typically don’t want to work very hard to get a great meal on the table. Sure, occasionally I’ll get into making a more project-like dish, but mostly I want a big payoff for minimal effort. That’s true all year long, but never truer than in the summer, when the sweltering heat makes me not want to lift a finger, much less turn on any heat source.
Luckily, much of the best summer produce needs no cooking at all. Just toss with seasonings, whir in the blender, or pile onto toast, and with a little help from easy proteins like beans, nuts, and cheese, you have yourself a gorgeous meal. That’s what these recipes are all about: totally chill, no-cook dishes that celebrate the season’s finest. Enjoy, and stay cool!
Panzanella with White Beans
This take on the classic Tuscan bread and tomato salad has crisp cucumber and fresh herbs, and includes white beans for hearty texture and protein, turning it into a main-course option. Dicing everything into small pieces gives the easy, rustic dish a more elegant spin, and, rather than overwhelming it with heaps of bread, using just enough of a whole-grain crusty loaf to get the juice-sopping effect keeps it lighter and more vegetable-centric.
Go-To Gazpacho
As soon as the tomatoes come into my local farmer’s market my mind turns to one thing, like a mantra, Gazpacho, Gazpacho, Gazpacho. I have made it dozens of different ways over the years, but this is my official, go-to recipe, the one I simply must have in my fridge all summer long. It is easy-breezy, basically akin to whirring a tomato, cucumber and bell pepper salad in the blender. There is no need to fuss with peeling the tomatoes or straining the puree. I add a slice of bread (whole grain) to give it extra body and creaminess and a finishing drizzle of good olive oil for a refreshing, sumptuous, elegant way to eat your vegetables that I bet you won’t be able to stop thinking about.
Ricotta Toasts with Peaches and Pistachios
Here, cool, creamy ricotta is smeared luxuriously onto whole grain toast, then topped with sliced peaches, pistachios, a drizzle of honey, fresh thyme leaves and a finishing sprinkle of sea salt for a nourishing, sweet-savory breakfast or snack. Technically, I suppose toasting the bread could count as cooking, but just barely, so we’ll let it slide, because this is so good on a hot summer’s day.