Easy Suppers for Hot Summer Nights

Even a dedicated foodie who loves cooking finds the prospect of standing in a hot kitchen cooking a meal too much to contemplate when the temperature is touching 30C in London. The question of supper can only be – What’s the most simple, but delicious, thing I can prepare for supper? Of course some people don’t understand this. Why cook at all? Why eat? Just throw some salad-y things together (awful memories of those awful British salads of old with just limp lettuce, chopped cucumber and tasteless tomatoes with perhaps some processed ham dumped on top!). No … a foodie always has to eat something nice. A foodie always has to feel just a frisson of excitement about what’s on the plate in front of them. And that can be from very easy to requiring just a little bit of effort (after all, there are only so many nights you want to eat ultra-simple).

Tonight was ultra-simple. I was eating early before going to my book group. I always eat something simple on these nights – often an omelette. This evening it was Insalata Tricolore (photo at top) but made with a perfectly ripe avocado, good quality vine tomatoes full of taste, a buffalo mozzarella, and basil leaves picked from the plant on my kitchen windowsill. Season with sea salt, a little freshly ground black pepper, and drizzle over a healthy amount of extra virgin olive oil. Serve if possible with a fresh Pugliese loaf from Your Bakery Whitton. Perfection!

Here’s a selection of recipes from the blog over recent years which are perfect suppers for these hot summer nights!

Insalata Caprese (click here for recipe)