Best Hot Weather Recipes
Ramen Noodle Salad
Dressing
¼ cup neutral salad oil (canola, peanut, sesame (not toasted), light olive oil, or avocado oil)
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp garlic powder (or fresh crushed garlic)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Salad
6 cups shredded cabbage
1 carrot
4 green onions
37g package instant ramen noodles
¼ cup sliced almonds
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
Make the dressing first. Whisk together the salad oil, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder and toasted sesame oil. Set the dressing aside.
Shred the cabbage as finely as possible. Shred the carrot and slice the green onions. Crush the instant ramen noodles (discard the seasoning packet or save it for another use).
Place the cabbage, carrot, green onion, almonds, crushed ramen noodles, and shredded chicken in a large bowl. Pour the prepared dressing over the top. Toss the salad until everything is evenly combined and coated in dressing. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat.
Tortellini Salad
1 summer squash
1 courgette
½ tsp salt
1 pint cherry tomatoes
½ red onion
2 cups fresh baby spinach
½ cup sliced black olives
¾ cup Italian dressing
½ cup chopped Italian parsley
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1lb cheese tortellini
First, cook the tortellini according to the package directions, then drain well and cool in a very large bowl in the fridge.
While the tortellini is cooking, slice the summer squash and the courgette into ¼” rounds and then quarter the rounds. Add them to a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and mix.
Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Slice the red onion in ¼” half-moons and soak it in cold water to dull its sharp flavour. Chop the parsley and if the baby spinach leaves are large, chop them as well.
Once the tortellini has cooled, top it with the cherry tomatoes, red onion, courgette, squash, baby spinach and sliced black olives. Drizzle with ½ cup of Italian dressing.
Next, top the salad with chopped Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese. Then drizzle with the final 1/4 cup of Italian dressing. Finally, mix, and serve!
Tomato Mozarella Pasta Salad
230g bowtie pasta
Salt for pasta water
3 cups fresh spinach
1 pint grape tomatoes
230g mozzarella
Parmesan Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp salt
Freshly cracked pepper
Fill a pot with water and add two large pinches of salt. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and give it a brief rinse with cool water. Let it drain well while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Parmesan Balsamic Vinaigrette
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar or blender until the ingredients are well combined. Set the dressing aside until needed.
Roughly chop the spinach and slice the grape tomatoes in half. Dice the mozzarella into ½” cubes. Put spinach, tomatoes and mozzarella in a large bowl. Once the pasta is well drained and mostly cool, add it to the bowl with the mozzarella and vegetables. Make sure the pasta is no longer hot, so it doesn’t wilt the spinach or melt the cheese.
Toss the ingredients to combine. If serving the salad later, store it like this without dressing. If serving immediately, add half of the dressing and toss to coat. Add more dressing as desired.
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Vinaigrette
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Salad
1 English cucumber
1 pint grape tomatoes
½ red onion
Fresh parsley, chopped (about ½ cup)
32g can cannellini beans
32g can chunk light tuna
57g feta cheese
Make the vinaigrette first, so the flavours have a little time to blend. In a bowl or jar, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients together, or close the jar and shake until combined. Set the vinaigrette aside.
If you want to soften the flavour of the red onion a bit, slice it, then soak the slices in iced water for about five minutes before dicing. Finely dice the red onion, cut the cucumber into quarter rounds, slice the tomatoes in half and roughly chop the parsley. Combine the cucumber, tomato, onion, and parsley in a bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over top, then stir until the vegetables are coated.
Rinse and drain the beans, and drain the tuna. Add the beans, tuna and feta to the salad, then gently stir to combine. These three are added last and only gently stirred to make sure the tuna remains in larger flakes instead of falling apart into tiny pieces. Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to four days. Give it a quick stir after refrigerating and before serving to redistribute the dressing.