Three tangy, herbal no-cook dishes to thrill you all summer

A nước chấm-happy tomato salad, Turkish cucumber-yogurt soup and hearts-of-palm aguachile will help you chill.

Tomato, Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad with Mint and Nước Chấm / Photo: Leslie Brenner

Happy Sunday, wilted cook!

I’m feeling extremely lucky to have been in gorgeous, cool, alpine Ketchum, Idaho for the past week, communing with old friends and nature, and generally chilling. Last night I returned home to Dallas, and now I’m bracing for heat that’ll likely be my lot for at least a couple of months, as I have no other summer getaways in sight.

Leaning into the idea of chill is the way I plan to handle it, so this morning I’ll head to the grocer for some no-cook, cool-eating provisions: tomatoes, melon, cukes, mint, dill, cilantro, avocado, citrus, yogurt — that kind of thing. I find vinegar extremely refreshing, and fortunately my larder already holds a wide array (sherry vinegar, apple-cider, white- and red-wine vinegar, rice vinegar, etc. etc.).

Nước Chấm Vinaigrette and friends

Once home, I’ll shake up a jar of nước chấm vinaigrette to have on hand for the coming week. Inspired by a recipe from

Andrea Nguyen

, it’s perfect for bringing a high-umami bounce to all kinds of salads.

Lunch will be one like the salad shown above (recipe below), with tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, melon and mint. It’s crazy-delicious, and eminently riffable. Maybe toss in a few handfuls of arugula or other greens. Or skip the melon, if it’s not ripe, or the avocado, if it’s too expensive. Add scallions, or swap the mint for cilantro.

You can also toss the nước chấm vinaigrette with leftover cooked vegetables — it would be fabulous with cold zucchini, rapini, broccoli or green beans. Or cut up cold leftover potatoes, add some sliced shallot, red onion or scallion, maybe some parsley or other herbs, dress with the vinaigrette and you’ve got a whole new potato salad vibe.

Made by grating cucumber and swirling it into whisked yogurt with fresh herbs, vinegar and olive oil, traditional Turkish is a cold soup for discerning luddites. Photo: Leslie Brenner

Cacik: a treat for luddites

The traditional Turkish cold soup known as cacik requires no heat — and no equipment you need to plug in. Made by whisking yogurt, then adding grated cucumber, herbs, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper, it’s at once satisfying, tangy and cooling, perfect for a heat-wave. You can even make it when the power is out. Long live the box-grater!

The secret to a great aguachile? Control the heat and tartness. Our vegan hearts-of-palm number with avocado and cucumbers does just that. Photo: Leslie Brenner

Hearts of Palm Aguachile

Aguachile — northwest Mexico’s take on ceviche — can be so enticing. Yet try a recipe pulled off the internet, even from one of the most trustworthy cooking sites, and chances are it will be so acidic it scrapes the enamel off your teeth, and so chile-hot (aguachile literally means “chile water”), you can’t eat more than one bite.

That’s because all chiles are not created anything like equal — a serrano can range from mild to infernal. That’s why my recipe for a vegan aguachile starring hearts of palm starts with just a little serrano. Sample it as you go along, and add chile to taste. The result will be so delicious you may want to drink the sauce left in the plate when you’re done.

Have a great rest of the weekend. Stay cool, if you can, and eat tangy. Let me know how you like these recipes.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: “Obsessed with Ceviche: Here’s how to improvise brilliant ones” (with recipes!)

Lots of love,

Leslie