ISTANBUL : The weather is getting hotter and hotter each day. Who’s going to want to stand in the sweltering kitchen in front of the hot stove? As much as I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, a quick summer salad is always delicious and usually requires minimum effort and skill. Here are some of the best salads to enjoy in the hot summer months:
The seasonal
This might be a no-brainer, but it is the most environmentally friendly, climate-conscious option. The ingredient list for this one couldn’t be simpler: Go to your local grocer or bazaar or any spot that provides goods from local farmers and see what they have there. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, young onions, green onions and a variety of peppers. Combine them to your heart’s desire, sprinkle some salt and a good dash of olive oil and enjoy! Enhancing these seasonal salads with grains or nuts can make for an interesting variation as well. For example, you can lightly toast sesame seeds in a pan and mix that in. My personal favorite is and will always be sunflower seeds.
Italian flair: Panzanella
When you have some leftover pieces of bread and you are not in the mood to make breadcrumbs for future cooking endeavors (and for those who refuse to waste them by throwing them away) there is this amazing Italian bread and tomato salad that might sound very simple but has become a favorite of mine. There are different takes on this recipe, as with all good recipes, so don’t be hesitant to change it up a bit as well.
Ingredients
- half a loaf of leftover bread
- 3-5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 cucumbers
- 250 grams cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- a few leaves of basil
- salt, pepper
- mozzarella, optional
Instructions
Cut the bread into small cubes and fry them in a pan with about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil until they are all crunchy. Halve the tomatoes, or if they are rather big you can quarter them. Cut the cucumbers into cubes as well. Chop the garlic very finely and mix it with the remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and toss it a bit. Finally, sprinkle coarsely chopped basil leaves if you like.
Tips
The addition of mozzarella, cut or in ball shape, makes for a nice neutral color in the salad. The addition of onions, cut very finely, makes for another interesting note. Finally, you can prepare the bread cubes ahead of time and toss them in the freezer. Baking them in the oven makes this step especially practical.
Summer potato salad
Some think that salads won’t make you full unless you eat a lot, but you can convince any skeptic that this one won’t leave you hungry any time soon.
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram potatoes
- half a bunch of parsley
- half a bunch of dill
- green onions
- a cob of corn
- a few green peppers
- 1 small lemon
- salt
- pomegranate molasses (nar ekişi), optional
Instructions
Cook the potatoes until soft and peel them. Cut into equal-sized cubes. Chop the other ingredients, remove the corn from the cob or use canned corn. Put it all into a bowl of your choosing and add the juice of one lemon. Sprinkle some salt and pomegranate molasses over it to finish.
