Cooking Without an Oven During a Heatwave

As temperatures climb, many home cooks look for substantial meals that avoid heating the kitchen. A recent food commentary outlines a range of cold-or-room-temperature dishes that rely on toast, chilled salads, and quick-soak noodles, allowing diners to stay cool while still enjoying a hearty dinner.

The Guardian

• Toast toppers: Rub toasted bread with garlic, drizzle olive oil, add grated tomatoes, salt and tinned anchovies.

The Guardian

• Crab-mayo spreads: Mix picked brown crab meat with mayo, lemon juice and mustard; layer with white crab meat, chives, coriander, crème fraîche and black pepper. Top with sweetcorn and watercress.

The Guardian

• Cucumber-salad crunch: Rough-chop cucumbers, toss with soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, fish sauce and chilli crisp, seal in a container and chill. Serve alongside smoked salmon and jasmine rice, finished with sesame seeds and coriander.

The Guardian

• Rice-noodle bowls: Soak rice noodles in hot water, then dress with peanut butter, miso, tahini, sesame oil, garlic and lime or rice-wine vinegar. Add cooked prawns and smashed cucumbers for texture.

The Guardian

• Pesto-courgette strips: Blend walnuts (or pine nuts), firm cheese, basil or flat-leaf parsley, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and ice; coat peeled courgette strips and let them absorb the flavor before topping with torn mozzarella, black pepper and pickled raisins.

The Guardian

• Assembly bowls: Combine pantry staples such as artichokes, capers, olives, peppers, cooked lentils and feta for a quick, satisfying mix.

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• Lucy Carr-Ellison – Co-owner of Tart London; advocates garlic-and-anchovy toast as a summer staple.

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• Jamie Pickles – Chef and co-owner of Stow and The Trof in Manchester; provides crab-mayo spreads, cucumber salads and walnut-based pesto variations.

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• Alexandra Dudley – Author of *Cooking Made Simple*; promotes rice-noodle bowls as a cool, protein-rich option.

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• “I make a lot of rice noodle bowls,” — Alexandra Dudley, author of Cooking Made Simple

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• “Switch out pine nuts for more affordable walnuts, and the same goes for the cheese,” — Jamie Pickles

The Guardian