Meals When You’re Melting
Heat waves are the new normal so I’m sharing a few of my favorite cool down classics that require little to no cooking and flex with what you might have on hand, what’s fresh in season and what you’re feeling. What’s fun about these is that most are “choose your own adventure” - where you get to be the architect of the flavors you love most, grounded in base recipes that are no fail.
Chilled Soba Noodle Salad
Ina fans, raise your hands.
This salad is a riff off a dish from a favorite spot of hers: Loaves & Fishes, a Hamptons gourmet store. Like many of my recipes, I start with a base (this time inspired by this one) and take the first exit, charting my own path. I like to add rotisserie chicken but this would be great as a side to salmon, grilled shrimp, a thai beef skewer, etc!
Here’s my spin on this simple dish that takes 20 min from prep to plate!
Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb package soba noodles
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin*
1 cup snow peas, sliced thin*
1/2 cup scallions, sliced thin
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup sliced radicchio*
1/2 chopped rotisserie chicken meat (optional)
Chopped peanuts (optional)
1/4 cup fresh ground peanut butter
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch knob of ginger, peeled + chopped
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes (omit for kids)
*You can swap in any veggies you like here but the objective is always for crunchy textures. Raw shaved beets or carrots, edamame, sliced snap peas, etc. all would be great options.
DIRECTIONS:
Boil soba noodles per package directions and rinse thoroughly with cold water when done. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients starting at fresh peanut butter through pepper flakes into a blender and mix for 30 sec or until completely emulsified.
Place cooled noodles in a bowl and toss in all veggies + protein. Pour dressing over and toss. Add cilantro, if desired. (Or if you have cilantro haters, make it an optional add for the side.)
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Crudo
The core of Samir Nosrat’s now famous Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat series and cookbook is the concept that these four elements are needed in balance for successful dishes.
The simplest application of these rules can be put to the test when you make a crudo. The most important thing you need for crudo is just delicious, fresh fish. The rest comes together fast and most ingredients can be harvested from your pantry and items you always have on hand. I like crudo on the side with shucked oysters, pan con tomate, or with a bowl of fries and a crisp, dry glass of wine. It also makes a great starter for a heavier main course and comes together in less than 10 min.
Some favorite combos of mine…
1) Tuna + Orange / Lemon Juice + Olive Oil + Aleppo
2) Fluke + Lemon + Fresh Jalapeño + Olive Oil (pictured above)
3) Snapper + Habandada** + Lime + Avocado
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb quality raw fish (fluke, salmon, tuna, snapper, etc.) - sliced into about 1/4” thick pieces
SALT: 1 tsp. maldon sea salt (you want the flakes large + crunchy!)
FAT: 1-2 tbsp fat (quality olive oil, avocados, etc.)
ACID: 1-2 tbsp acid (e.g., citrus juice, soy sauce, etc.)
HEAT: 1 part heat - something spicy (e.g., 1 tsp. Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes, spicy peppers, chili crunch, etc.)
Fresh herbs (optional)
Microplaned / Grated citrus rind (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Place your fish pieces on a plate so each piece has equal space to get dressed with the goods! (no clumping - we’re not making ceviche!)
Add your oil and heat elements. (Adjust quantities as you go - but you want everything to have a little dollop of each ingredient but not get drowned in olive oil).
Sprinkle liberally with salt RIGHT BEFORE YOU EAT. The salt will start to melt into the dish (which is delicious) but you want the crunchy texture to hit your tongue before it melts. Trust me.
Add any fresh herbs / grated seasonings on top, should you desire.
Inhale.
Watermelon Gazpacho with Feta Crema
This is my go-to summer dinner party dish. You can make it ahead, dress it up with a ton of beautiful textures + flavors right before serving and it goes with just about anything. A tiny taste of heat from jalapeño elevates this recipe from sweet to sophisticated. Find the recipe from Susan Spungen in Bon Appetit.
