Make this three-course meal in an hour, without cooking
YOU
CAN BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE for whom summer entertaining seems effortless. You know the type: they just “toss things together.” They don’t sweat the tablescape. They plunk down a few bottles of vino, light up some votives and enjoy their company till it’s time to clear the plates.
Here’s a way to do it. Compose a no-cook menu, most of which can be made in advance. Consider this new three-course plan: a pale-green, creamy and refreshing blender soup to start; a trendy poke salad with unexpected crunch; and a coffee-kissed icebox torte made with chocolate-sided, whole-wheat digestive biscuits. All are doable in an hour, provided you start with the dessert so it can chill while you make the rest.
Pea, Ricotta and Mint Gazpacho
Makes 6 to 8 servings (4 cups)
This first-course soup
is beautiful, refreshing and slightly grassy on the finish — your guests will never be able to tell that it takes no more than 15 minutes to assemble. The soup can be refrigerated a day in advance. You may wish to reblend just before serving.
You can still find fresh peas in the produce department at this time of year, but if they aren’t available at your market, use frozen/defrosted green peas. Pea, Ricotta and Mint Gazpacho. 1 large or 2 seedless cucumbers, peeled and cut into cubes (14 ounces total)
Flesh of 1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks
1 cup shelled fresh green peas, plus more for garnish
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese 1 clove garlic
1⁄4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more as needed
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus a few small leaves for garnish 1⁄4 cup fresh mint leaves 1⁄2 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper Extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish
Combine the cucumber, avocado, peas, ricotta, garlic, water, lemon juice, chopped parsley, mint and scallion greens in a high-powered blender (preferably a Vitamix); purée until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper; blend again, just to incorporate. Taste, and add more lemon juice, as needed.
Divide among individual small bowls. Garnish each portion with a few peas, parsley leaves and a drizzle of oil.
Per serving (based on 8): 110 calories, 5 grams protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 15 milligrams cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fibre, 2 g sugar Tuna Poke with Kohlrabi.
Tuna Poke with Kohlrabi
Makes 6 to 8 servings
This just happens to be a doubly special recipe; it may introduce you to a vegetable that many folks don’t often use and will take about 20 minutes to prepare. It’s kind of pretty on the plate, too.
The tuna, once dressed, is best the same day it is prepared. But it can be refrigerated overnight for leftovers the next day, having become only a bit mushier.
Kohlrabi may come in shades of pale green or bright purple; once you peel it, the vegetable is the same on the inside. It may come with stalks and leaves attached; the latter are fine to eat. The vegetable has the crunch of radish but is mild in flavour. Used raw, as it is here, it holds up well to dressings.
2 small or 1 large kohlrabi, peeled and cut into thin strips (julienne; about 1 pound total before trimming)
6 or 7 scallions (1 bunch; white and green parts), cut lengthwise into julienne
1 to 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil Fine sea salt
18 to 21 ounces good-quality tuna fillets
2 teaspoons pure sesame oil (not toasted)
1 1⁄2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger root, grated (about 1 tbsp)
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 small red chili pepper, such as bird’s-eye, seeded and cut into small pieces
1 tbsp toasted/roasted sesame seeds
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
1 tbsp black sesame seeds, for garnish
Combine the kohlrabi
and scallions in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with the grapeseed oil, as needed, and season lightly with salt, tossing lightly to coat.
Cut the fish into ¾-inch chunks, getting rid of any stringy bits and fat.
Whisk together the sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce or tamari, chili pepper and toasted/roasted sesame seeds in a mixing bowl. Just before serving, add the tuna and toss to coat evenly.
Divide the kohlrabi mixture among individual plates. Top each portion with equal amounts of the tuna. Garnish with the cilantro leaves and black sesame seeds.
Per serving: 110 calories, 17 grams protein, 4 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 25 milligrams cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fibre, 1 g sugar
McVities Icebox Mess
Makes 8 servings
Milk-chocolate digestive biscuits
give this dessert a soft texture contrast and bring chocolaty flavour. They will soften somewhat when allowed to sit in the whipped cream/ cheese mixture for a few hours.
If you choose to use cream cheese rather than the tiramisu-flavoured mascarpone, be sure the cream cheese is the whipped kind, because it is not as dense as the regular brick variety of cream cheese. If you use the mascarpone, you can omit the espresso.
We fancied this up with white chocolate curls on top, but they are optional. To make them easily, see the Note, below. You’ll need an 8½-by-4½-inch loaf pan.
The dessert needs to be refrigerat- ed for at least 30 minutes, and up to overnight.
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar
8 ounces whipped cream cheese or tiramisu-flavoured mascarpone, at a cool room temperature
2 to 3 tablespoons strongly brewed espresso
10 cookies from one 10.5-ounce package milk-chocolate-covered biscuits Pomegranate molasses White chocolate curls, for garnish (optional; see Note)
Red currants, for garnish (optional)
Combine the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar in the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon-whisk attachment, or use a hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium speed for a few minutes, to form soft peaks.
Stop to add the whipped cream cheese and espresso (to taste) or the tiramisu-flavoured mascarpone; beat on low speed just until incorporated. The mixture should be firm enough so that a tableware spoon inserted into it can stand upright on its own.
Line the loaf pan with plastic wrap, making sure there is enough wrap hanging over the sides (so you will be able to close it over the top).
Spread half the whipped cream mixture in the pan. Then, insert the biscuits (cookies) about ¼ inch apart, standing them upright so their top halves are exposed.
Drizzle the pomegranate molasses evenly over the surface of the whipped cream mixture (with the cookies standing in a row in it). Then fill the pan with the remaining mixture, doing it gently enough so the biscuits stay in place. You should have enough of the mixture to cover the cookies; they will start to sink in after a few minutes, which will make the covering easier. Fold over the plastic wrap so the loaf is sealed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up and chill through.
When ready to serve, open the plastic wrap at the top. Invert a serving platter over the torte; holding both together tightly, invert so the torte is positioned upside down on the platter. Discard the plastic wrap.
Decorate with the white chocolate curls and/or red currants, if desired. Serve chilled.
Note: To make the white chocolate curls, let a thin, 3- or 4-ounce bar of white chocolate come to room temperature. Pull a vegetable peeler along one of the bar’s thin sides using steady pressure; this will create curls. Repeat as needed. (If some of them shred, that’s OK, too.)
Per serving: 330 calories, 3 grams protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 24 g fat, 14 g saturated fat, 70 milligrams cholesterol, 220 mg sodium, 15 g sugar