Healthy Homemade Summer Recipes
We all know that not planning what to eat can be chaotic if you leave it until the last minute. Here, we’ll show you some great summer recipes you can try this year. Save them now to use later!
This menu consists of three snacks (sardine pate, Greek salad and cucumber rolls), two starters (mussels with vinaigrette and esgarrat), a main dish of fish zarzuela and nougat for dessert.
Summer recipes: snacks
1. Sardine pate
Ingredients for 4 servings:
- Eight canned sardines
- One carrot
- Two teaspoons of mustard
- Chopped parsley to garnish
Preparation
- First, grate the carrot and mix it with the sardines in a bowl.
- Using a fork, mash the mixture until it’s as homogenous as possible.
- Add some mustard and mix again.
- Finally, garnish with chopped parsley.
2. Greek salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of feta cheese
- 1/4 cup of sweet onion
- 2 tablespoons of green pepper
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons of olives
- 1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil
- Fresh oregano, salt and ground black pepper
- 1 slice of lemon
- Half of a cumber
To make this salad, you’ll need to wash all of the vegetables first. Then, cut the onion into julienne strips, dice the bell pepper and cucumber, and cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
Then, make a dressing with the oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano. Finally, mix all of these ingredients in a plate or bowl and serve.
3. Cucumber and hummus rolls
To make this great summer recipe, you’ll need:
- 1 cucumber
- 3 tablespoons of homemade hummus
- One tomato
- 1 cup of Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon of seeds to decorate before serving
Preparation
Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, cut the cucumber into very thin slices. Then, chop the tomato into small pieces and grate the parmesan cheese into flakes.
On a plate, place the cucumber slices. Next, spread a tablespoon of hummus and add a few pieces of chopped tomato and some Parmesan. Finally, carefully roll it up and decorate it by sprinkling some seeds on the top.
Summer recipes: starters
1. Mussels in vinaigrette
This is one of the best healthy summer recipes. All you need is the following ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of cooked mussels, or 1.5 cups of whole mussels
- Half a small tomato
- Chopped chives
- Crushed red pepper
- Chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil
- A slice of lemon
- Salt, ground black pepper and dried rosemary to taste
Preparation
Wash and chop all of the vegetables into small cubes. Then, remove one of the shells from the cooked mussel, but leave the other shell.
Next, make a vinaigrette with the oil, the juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper, and a little rosemary. Then, add the chopped vegetables. Finally, place the mussels on a plate and pour the vinaigrette on them. Finally, you can decorate it with chopped parsley.
2. Esgarrat
Ingredients:
- Two red bell peppers
- 1/8 cup of cod
- One clove of garlic
- A tablespoon virgin olive oil
- Salt
Preparation:
- First, desalt the cod a few days before, in plenty of water, in the fridge; the longer you leave it, the better.
- Then, preheat the oven to 350ºF while washing the peppers.
- When the oven is heating, broil the peppers until tender. Let them cool, peel them, and tear them into strips with your fingers.
- Next, drain the cod, and rip it into strips with your fingers.
- Finally, mix the bell pepper and cod in a bowl, season with the minced garlic, oil, and a pinch of salt (if necessary).
Main course: Zarzuela de Pescado
Zarzuela de Pescado is definitely one of the best summer recipes you can make for your family. You’ll need:
- 1/4 cup of hake
- 4 clams
- 1/4 cup of monkfish
- 1/8 cup of fresh prawns
- 1/4 cup of squid
- Two tablespoons of crushed tomato, preferably homemade
- Chopped onion
- Two cups of fish broth
- A handful of almonds
- 1/4 cup of wheat flour
- A thin slice of white bread
- Virgin olive oil, garlic, saffron, salt and parsley
Preparation
First of all, wash all of the ingredients. Then, heat a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan and start to fry the ingredients, following these steps:
- Add the chopped garlic and whole almonds to the pan.
- When it starts to brown slightly, add the slice of bread.
- Finally, season with salt, pepper, and parsley.
Then, remove all the ingredients from the saucepan, mash them, and set them aside. Next, flour the hake and monkfish and lightly brown them in the same pan. Then, remove them and set them aside.
The next step is to sauté the diced onion and add the chopped squid. When it starts to cook, add the crushed tomato. Season and sauté for a few more minutes.
Then, pour the fish broth over all of the ingredients in the pan. Let it cook, and add the monkfish, hake, and clams. Keep everything together over low heat until everything is cooked.
Finally, serve in the same saucepan with a little chopped parsley.
Healthy summer recipes: homemade nougat dessert
The final touch of our healthy summer recipes is this nougat. To make it, you’ll need:
- Dark chocolate (75% dark)
- Two tablespoons of coconut oil
- Dates to taste (the more you add, the sweeter the nougat will be)
- Roasted and sliced chestnuts
- Puffed quinoa
Preparation:
First, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie. Next, crush the dates and mix with the melted chocolate and coconut oil until well combined.
Then, place it in a mold and add the puffed quinoa and chestnuts. Finally, refrigerate until solid.
Surprise all of your loved ones with any of these recipes, and you’ll have a summer full of delicious, healthy recipes. Enjoy your family meals together!