6 Fresh And Healthy Recipes With Summer Vegetables

Summer is usually synonymous with gazpacho, salmorejo, cucumber salads, stuffed zucchini … they are the vegetables that are in season, at their best, and we love to take advantage of them in these typical dishes, but what else can you do with them? ?

Well, apart from all kinds of salads and cold soups, I propose a few recipes that are out of the ordinary so that you love these vegetables a little more.

Zucchini noodles or “zoodles”

As simple as using a julienne cutter or spiralizer with our well washed raw zucchini with skin. What we will have are “spaghetti” of this vegetable that can be eaten as is, raw, or heated for a few minutes, sautéed with other ingredients.

Sauces can be used the same as for a normal pasta dish: a textured soy or lentil bolognese, a homemade tomato sauce, etc.

Zucchini bread

Halfway between a bread and a sponge cake, it can be a good snack to go, or a very original whim.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons of rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baker’s yeast
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ¾ cup of warm water
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds
• 2 dates
• 2 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
• 1 medium-small zucchini (about 175g)

Preparation

1. Grind the flax seeds with a grinder or mash them with a mortar and pestle. Beat the dates with the mixer (you can add more and use 1 tablespoon of the resulting paste). Wash the zucchini and grate it with a large hole grater. Dry it well with kitchen paper.
2. Mix the wheat flour with the rice flour, the yeast and the salt. Make a hole in the center and add the warm water, flax, dates, oil and zucchini and mix well all together.
3. When a more or less homogeneous dough forms, put it in a large bowl, cover it and let it rise until it doubles in size.
4. Knead it a little on a floured surface, shape it into a cylinder (more or less) and put it in a rectangular sponge cake tin with parchment paper. Moisten the surface a little with water.
5. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
6. Place the bread at medium height, with heat up and down, about 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Take it out and let it temper before unmolding.

African tomato sauce

Of inspiration Central Africa, a sauce different for you to use in any dish, but is especially well with rice and vegetables.

Ingredients

• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 medium-large ripe tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• A pinch of ground black pepper
• Approx. ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 chilli peppers “piri-piri”

Preparation

1. In a medium saucepan or deep skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Grate the onion and mash it. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes and add them, stirring well.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix it. Turn up the heat and add a couple of cups of water.
4. When it starts to boil, put it over medium heat and let it cook for 15 minutes, until it has reduced, stirring occasionally to undo the tomato.

Filled tomatoes

For a fresh and quick solution, it is best to make them raw and stuffed with things that we have left over from other meals, for example quinoa or cooked rice mixed with fresh coriander, corn, onion, etc.

1. Mix the filling ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cut only the top part, empty them with a spoon and add this interior that we have removed to the mixture from the bowl.
3. Now fill them well, making sure they are tight, and close them with the part that we have cut from the tomato.

What we have left is like a tomato-salad in practical individual portions that are very fresh and juicy.

tzatziki

A recipe as simple as hummus, you only need the ingredients and a mixer, or mix everything by hand. With this sauce you can accompany salads, vegetable patés, sandwiches …

Ingredients

• 3 natural soy yogurts (unsweetened and unflavored)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• The juice of ½ lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 medium-small cucumber
• Some fresh mint leaves
• A pinch of ground pepper

Preparation

1. Wash the cucumber and chop it finely or grate it with a large hole grater.
2. Drain the yogurts and put them in the blender with the peeled garlic and without nerve. Beat it.
3. While beating, add the olive oil, lemon juice and salt. When a creamy emulsion has been made, mix it with the cucumber and garnish with the mint and pepper.
4. If you want it creamier, pour the yogurts into a muslin, hang it (for example on the kitchen tap) and let it drain for a few hours before using it.

Cucumber water

A homemade soft drink is also very easy that we can make in large quantities (for example 2 2-liter bottles) and take it on a picnic.

Ingredients (for 4 liters)

• 3.5 liters of water
• 2 cucumbers
• 6-8 mint leaves
• 4-5 slices of ginger
• 1 lemon

Preparation

1. Distribute the water in the bottles that you are going to use.
2. Wash the cucumbers and cut them into slices. Distribute them through the bottles. Finely chop the peppermint and spread it out as well. Same with ginger. Cut the lemon into slices and put the ones you want in each bottle.
3. Close them, shake them for a few seconds and store them in the fridge. After a couple of hours, the flavor will be noticeable.

You can keep it up to 4 days without problem.