8 Chilled Dishes for Sweltering Summer Days

Unless you’re outside grilling up a storm or blessed with air conditioning, cooking and summer just don’t mix. Why risk making your home feel even hotter than it already is by turning on the oven?

Luckily, there are plenty of tasty dishes that require minimal (or no!) cooking—from gazpacho and ceviche to veggie rolls and pudding. This week, instead of feeling the heat, try one of these cool recipes from the WL archives.

Chilled Peach Gazpacho

Lawren Moneta developed this recipe with beach picnics in mind, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t serve it at more formal summer soirées. Since the majority of the prep work needs to be done a couple of days in advance (so the peaches, cucumbers, yellow bell peppers and dried apricots can marinate), you’ll have more time to socialize with your dinner guests.

Crunchy Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad

If you enjoy shopping at your local farmers’ market, you’ll love this recipe—it’s made with in-season carrots and kohlrabi. While the thinly sliced vegetables provide a satisfying crunch, the sunflower-and-flax-seed topping takes the texture of this salad to the next level. The garnish is the only element that requires you to turn on the oven and trust us: it’s worth it.

Abundant Collard Green Veggie Rolls

These collard green rolls are loaded with red cabbage, carrots, cucumber, tomato and yellow pepper, but feel free to play around and get creative with the filling. You’ll be hard pressed to find any veggie that doesn’t taste great with the creamy sunflower dipping sauce.

Salmon Pan Bagnat

We don’t typically like a soggy sandwich, but a pan bagnat (“bathed bread”) is meant to be on the softer side. Just remember to use a crusty loaf, like ciabatta so that it doesn’t get too mushy! As the sandwiches rest in the fridge overnight, the bread will absorb all the delicious flavours of the salmon, hard-boiled eggs, anchovy mayonnaise and vinaigrette that you layer inside.

Tomato Bruschetta

This dish from Caffe la Tana’s chef Phil Scarfone is ridiculously easy to make. Seriously… prep time depends entirely on how quickly you can (or want to!) quarter cherry tomatoes, chop garlic, shred basil and grab a pinch of chili flakes. Get dinner done in a flash or take it easy knowing nothing is at risk of burning.

Dill Pickle Ceviche

Ceviche, a Latin American dish, is typically made by curing chopped fish and seafood in citrus juices—but Julie Van Rosendaal’s recipe invites you to throw a bit of dill pickle brine and some chopped fresh dill into the mix. And you know what? It works. Say hello to your new summer favourite!

Spot Prawn and Cherry Gazpacho

Spot prawn season has already come and gone this year, but don’t let that stop you from trying chef Harris Sakalis’s recipe—tiger prawns are a perfectly suitable substitute. Besides, the gazpacho (a mix of tomato, cucumber and cherry) is so flavourful, you’ll hardly notice the difference in the protein.

Creamy Butternut Squash Pudding

This pudding is the perfect choice for a warm summer night because it doesn’t require any baking. Once the butternut squash has been prepared (on the stovetop for 15 minutes, max!), add it to a food processor with coconut cream, vanilla extract, cinnamon and ginger, blend until smooth and then refrigerate for a couple of hours.