A COOL SOLUTION FOR HOT NIGHTS

Tasty, satisfying salads are perfect and require minimal preparation

For some, a cold supper’s main virtue is expedience — a less than exciting but convenient way to get food on the table with no cooking required. My rural friend, however, has fond memories of summer evenings and cold suppers eaten on the screened-in porch. His family’s small farm supplied everything but the cold cuts, which were picked up in town. Potato salad, macaroni salad and devilled eggs were always served along with sliced tomatoes from the garden, a green salad and homemade pickles. A tall, frosty Tom Collins was the beverage offered to grown-ups. The kids drank lemonade.

But even this sort of idyllic farm supper requires some cooking. Water must be boiled, at the very least. No, you don’t want the oven on all day, but plan to make some use of your stovetop and grill if you want a good summer meal.

The urge to boycott the kitchen entirely during the summer months is understandable, especially for city dwellers enduring heatwaves. The irony is that high summer is when ingredients are at their best.

When I returned from the farmers’ market the other day, my bags were filled with glistening eggplants, truly ripe tomatoes, tender young green beans, just-picked okra and colourful summer squash. I was determined to make them all into five simple salads and to serve them later in the day at room temperature. That’s my kind of cold supper.

Working somewhat in advance is the trick to hot-weather cooking. Grab an hour in the early morning or mid-afternoon to get a little vegetable prep done or make a vinaigrette. But be sure to leave herb chopping for the last minute — your herbs will taste and look brighter.

Freshly picked green beans are a true summer treat. I pair mine with a mustardy vinaigrette, toss them with green olives, then shower them with snipped dill and chives.

A great tomato salad starts with sweet, ripe tomatoes. I chose a mix of mid-size heirlooms in assorted colours, from green to red to burgundy to golden. Dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar, with a touch of garlic, this salad is draped with anchovy fillets, the perfect counterpoint to the tomatoes’ sweetness. I toss the salad with large handful of fragrant basil leaves just before serving.

I’m an okra fan, whether it is fried, pickled or simmered in gumbo. Another way to love okra is barely cooked. For this salad, the okra boils for only two minutes in salted water, which gives it a texture reminiscent of asparagus. Seasoned with a warm and earthy Moroccan spice blend, it pleases even avowed okra-phobes.

The happy mix of eggplant, peppers and onions is found throughout the Mediterranean. Ideally the vegetables are cooked over hot coals, which adds a welcome smokiness, but I charred mine on a stovetop grill for a similar effect.

Then I chopped them together in rough chunks and added olive oil, lemon, capers and oregano — simple but glorious when made with super-fresh ingredients.

A salad of julienned raw zucchini dressed in yoghurt, with a generous amount of lemon juice and zest, is extremely refreshing.

My favourite herb vendor at the market had chervil, mint and a type of sorrel with tiny leaves, all of which enhanced the lemony essence. Sometimes I add a pinch of powdered sumac too.

Lined up on the table, these salads made an impressive buffet. But you can also use this little collection for five nights of summer dining, with a different salad each night. Since none of the vegetables were ever refrigerated, they had that straight-from-the-garden sweetness. It made this city boy think about moving upstate.