These recipes are too good to miss, so grab a pen and paper!
When the heat hits, especially at midday, the last thing you want to do is fire up the stove or overheat in the kitchen. In this post, we are going to check out some easy and cool foods for a hot August, and how to prepare them. We’ll make sure to keep the tasty ingredients and original recipes, so you get the best of both worlds but with our special Spanish touch. Oh, and we’re not featuring salads in this post, but if you’re on the lookout for that, check this other post. Let’s get started!
Salmorejo
Salmorejo is one of the star dishes of Córdoba, in Andalucía, along with flamenquines or berenjenas fritas. We have included it in our list of cool foods for a hot August because it’s a cold and refreshing recipe, ideal for these temperatures. Plus, it’s not difficult to prepare.
Salmorejo is a soup made with tomato, breadcrumbs, garlic, aceite de oliva, and salt. It’s very common to add hard-boiled egg and jamón serrano as a topping. Here’s the recipe for 2:
- 300 g of ripe tomatoes
- 75 g of white bread
- 1 clove of garlic
- 50 mL of aceite de oliva
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- Salt
- 1 hard boiled-egg
- Chopped jamón serrano
Wash the tomatoes, cut them into pieces and blend them until you get a fine puree. If you want to avoid lumps, we recommend that you use a strainer!
Next, add the chopped bread, peeled garlic, vinegar and salt. Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes so that the bread soaks well, and then blend everything again. While you do it, add aceite de oliva to emulsify. Then add the chopped egg and pieces of jamón serrano. There is no excuse; it’s very easy!
Crema de pepino
Even though it’s not a traditional Spanish dish, it has become popular here recently. You’ll see it in lots of Spanish summer recipes. It’s a lovely cold soup made from crushed cucumber with yoghurt and fresh mint, and it’s usually considered a starter, and a great candidate in our list of cool foods for a hot August.
Recipe for 2:
- 250 g of peeled cucumbers
- 1 natural Greek yogurt
- 5-6 mint leaves
- Half clove of garlic (if you like it)
- One tablespoon of aceite de oliva virgen
- A quarter of a lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- A bit of water
First, you’ll need to peel the cucumber and cut it into pieces. Now place the cucumber, yogurt, mint, garlic, lemon juice, aceite de oliva, salt and pepper in the blender. Then, gently blend everything together until you achieve a creamy texture. If you think it needs a little extra seasoning, no problem. Go ahead and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. You can also add dried tomatoes or mozzarella as toppings. It’s important to pop it in the refrigerator so that it’s nice and cold before you tuck it in!
Zucchini carpaccio with Parmesan cheese
This one is just mouth-watering, super simple and so light for a really hot day. You’ll need:
- 1 large zucchini
- 30 g of Parmesan cheese in flakes
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons of aceite de oliva
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper
- Basil
Wash the zucchini well and cut it in very thin slices. Place them on a flat plate or tray and make sure they are slightly overlapping. In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, aceite de oliva, a pinch of salt and pepper, and stir. Then sprinkle the dressing on top, the cheese flakes, and add the basil. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving so that the zucchini seasons well.
Moje murciano
The moje murciano is a cold salad made with tomato, onion, hard-boiled egg, tuna and olives and seasoned with aceite de oliva and salt. It is usually served as a tapa, starter, or accompaniment.
This is what you’ll need:
- 20 g of canned peeled tomato, either whole or chopped
- 1 can of tuna in aceite de oliva
- Half a sweet onion
- 1 hard boiled-egg
- 6-8 black or green olives
- Aceite de oliva virgen
- Salt
This is how you prepare it:
Drain the tomatoes from the juice and cut them into strips or small pieces. Now peel and cut the onion into fine julienne and mix the tomato with the onion in a bowl. Now add the crumbled tuna, the hard-boiled egg and the olives. Dress with aceite de oliva and salt to test.
After letting it rest for 30 minutes, serve it in individual bowls or a platter. You can decorate the moje with slices of hard-boiled egg, an extra splash of aceite de oliva virgen and chopped chives or parsley.
Now, it’s your turn to enjoy
We hope you found tasty discoveries within our cool foods for a hot August list! Let us know in the comments if you try any! See you next time!