Summer is the season of raucous pool parties, whirlwind getaways, and outdoor gatherings of all flavors. And as we soak up the warm weather and long weekends, many of us are also smacking our lips thinking of our favorite summer fruits and vegetables, ripened to perfection.
That said, as the days lengthen and heat up, we also want to spend less time in the kitchen, which leads to an internal battle: How do you gain inspiration to enjoy this bounty of produce when you can’t stand the heat? To gather some tips and tricks for taking better advantage of this glorious season, we called up culinary creator Marie Cahalane, aka Marie Makes. (Her Instagram feed is an absolute feast of delicious content, and we highly recommend following her right here.)
In this conversation, we dig into how to connect with summer’s bounty, from the produce you should be pumped for to the flavor combos Cahalane can’t stop thinking about. We also talked about a certain veggie that took some getting used to and the no-cook recipes she swears by when it’s just too sweltering to turn on the stove. Plus, the five ingredients she’d cook with all season long — and all the deets on her signature summer dish (that you’ll absolutely want to co-opt immediately).
Tag along with Marie for an informative visit to her own farmer’s market in the video below, and read on for more unmissable tips!
Katie Couric Media: What summer produce are you most excited about this year?
Marie Cahalane: When it comes to summer produce, I love fruit, whether I’m adding it to dinner, having it as a snack, or eating it as a dessert. I love having grilled peaches over vanilla ice cream with some nice honey or nuts on top. I’m also obsessed with watermelon. One of my favorite salads to make has no real greens in it, and I think that’s okay. A salad can be anything you want. It’s watermelon, balsamic vinegar, mint, salt, pepper, and pistachios.
How do you approach meal planning when produce is at its peak?
A lot of my basics for dinners are grouped into a pasta, a soup, a salad, or a veggie-forward dish — whether it’s roasted veggies in the oven, on the grill, et cetera — with a protein. So that’ll be grilled tofu, grilled halloumi, something along those lines.
I know I love a pasta dish two or three times a week. So it’s about having a standard pasta recipe and then emphasizing and expanding upon [the recipe] with in-season vegetables and fruits. So for example, I’ve been making pasta pomodoro at least once a week because it’s such a simple, easy recipe. I’ll pair it with a side of a vegetable like asparagus, which is in season right now.
Whether it’s a pasta dish or even meat with a side salad and a starch, you can constantly make yourself aware of what’s in season. A lot of it is just sticking to the basics of what you want your meal to look like, and then adding those vegetables and fruits into play where you can. It can be as simple as a topping, like adding peaches to your standard salad.
What’s your favorite unexpected flavor combo involving summer produce?
When I think of produce-forward snacks, I enjoy anything that’s going to quench my thirst because usually it’s so hot. I constantly have Tajín and limes in my kitchen, so I’ll put those all over a mango. [The combination] adds spice to citrus, and there’s something so good about it.
That flavor can be replicated through so many other different combinations. If you think of watermelon with salt, pepper, and balsamic on it, none of that might sound good in your head, but there’s something about it that it’s so complex and tasty. It’s about finding flavors that you would think would contrast with one another, but they actually end up complimenting one another really strongly.
Is there a summer fruit or vegetable you didn’t love until you learned the best way to cook it?
Eggplant. It’s in season starting in August. When I was a kid, I would eat eggplant and think it was the grossest thing I’d ever eaten in my whole life. The texture is weird. It has to sweat. All of these intimidating factors never drew me to it, but I’ve been able to teach myself how to cook it appropriately.
Specifically, if you put it in pasta alla norma, that’s a super simple recipe. When you look at the number of ingredients, it’s very straightforward. All you do is take roasted eggplant and incorporate it into your [tomato] sauce. When done right, it’s not as intimidating as it may seem.
What’s your favorite no-cook recipe that highlights summer produce?
Any sort of salad. The other day I grilled peaches — you absolutely don’t have to [grill them], though. I threw in arugula, mozzarella cheese balls, half of a cucumber, and some cherry tomatoes. I whipped up a very simple vinaigrette with some of my pantry staples: olive oil, honey, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. You can also add in any sort of nut for a protein. An easy salad with in-season produce can be so good, tasty, refreshing, and very low maintenance.
If you could only cook with five summer ingredients for the rest of the season, what would they be?
There is nothing better than an in-season tomato. I’ill go to the farmer’s market to get them, I’ll get them at Whole Foods, I’ll grow them in my backyard. Also, lemons. Citrus is available year-round, but I put lemons in every single summer dish.
I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but probably eggplant. I love a good veggie kebab, and eggplant really takes it home.
My last two are going to be fruits. I couldn’t live without watermelons or peaches. There truly is nothing better than in-season, super juicy peach and watermelon. And like I said, you can make those savory by adding them to salad, or you can just have them as a dessert. You can put them in cocktails. All of the above.
Do you have a signature dish that really captures the taste of summer?
My biggest one is my chimichurri sauce. I make it with tons of in-season herbs, then put it all over grilled veggie kebabs. That’s my go-to. Sometimes I’ll add in a nice, grilled, homemade garlic bread to go with it or a really tasty cilantro lime rice for it to go over. But grilled veggie kebabs with grilled halloumi drowned in a really fresh chimichurri sauce is my go-to summer staple. All of the colors look so good together, there’s just such a beautiful element to it. That’s what I think of when I think of summer.
