Summertime is a time for lighter fare and refreshing flavors, so it’s a good opportunity to mix up your normal cooking routine with some fun new recipes. These summertime meals are some of our favorite dishes to cook outside or bring with you on a relaxing picnic.
1. Shrimp Summer Rolls
Shrimp summer rolls make a great quick lunch, as they’re light – yet filling – and super portable. Make a few, pop them into some tupperware, and head outdoors to enjoy your summer rolls in the summer sunlight.
2. Cold Cherry Salmorejo Soup
When most people think of summer, the last thing they think of is soups. But cold soups can make the perfect summertime meal. Cold cherry salmorejo soup is a blended mixture of a few types of different tomatoes, along with cherries (yes, cherries) and served cold. It’s common in Spain and is one of the easiest cold soups to whip up, making it a perfect option for a quick summer meal.
3. Grilled Vegetarian Lasagna
Forget the heavy noodle laden lasagna of winter, in the summer choose a lighter alternative comprised of grilled zucchini, eggplant, and mascarpone cheese. The best part of this grilled vegetable lasagna is that it can be made outdoors on a charcoal grill or inside on a small, electric grill.
4. Asian Chicken Salad
If you’re looking for a sweeter alternative to a basic salad, try this tasty salad instead. Slices of oranges, grapefruits, limes, and pomegranate seeds add to the sweetness of this salad. Bits of avocado add a slightly savory flavor, combining to make a delicious summer citrus salad that’s perfect for any occasion.
5. Avocado Soup
Another cold soup, avocado soup is a refreshingly rich and creamy meal that works as perfectly by itself as it does with a quesadilla. This soup requires only six ingredients and takes less than 20 minutes to put together.
6. Scallop Rolls
It’s just not summer without some type of seafood roll. A traditional New England summer staple is the lobster roll, but this alternative uses scallops topped with a celery root slaw inside of a toasted bun. This simple recipe is quick and perfect for a day spent outside on the grill.
Do you have any favorite summertime meals? Share them with us in the comments!
