Play It Cool

Beat the heat with a chilled menu

By Berit Thorkelson

Photo by Maki Strunc Photography; Styled by Kathleen Behrens
Food Styled by Lara Miklasevics

After a drawn-out Minnesota winter, the arrival of summer’s warm, sunny days brings reason enough to celebrate. But when the weather shifts from warm to sweltering, so comes a host’s inevitable conundrum: How to comfortably entertain when the mere thought of more heat keeps you out of the kitchen?

The simple solution: Chill out. Arm yourself with the current crop of homegrown goodies and a little culinary creativity to whip up a satisfying, delicious meal—without cooking a darn thing.

Photo by Maki Strunc Photography

“We call it un-cooking,” says Adiel Tel Oren, a.k.a. Dr. T, founder of Ecopolitan, an eco-health network that includes an organic raw food restaurant in Minneapolis. Dr. T says preparing food without heat leaves both nutrients and flavors intact. “You’re able to enjoy the pure decadence of nature.”

Ecopolitan’s menu, featuring more than four pages of offerings made sans stove or oven, proves an exercise in thinking beyond simple fruit salads and crudités. Way beyond. In addition to their inventive “living” pizzas on sprouted dehydrated buckwheat and shredded-zucchini “pasta,” Dr. T recommends nutritionally dense greens dressed in a popular tahini-garlic dressing (see recipes) and a smoothie or shaved ice fruit drink (see recipes).

Avoiding heat does not mean avoiding protein. For example, when the local farmers who stop by owner and chef Lenny Russo’s back door at Heartland in St. Paul tote the season’s juicy heirloom melons, he pairs them with a nice, salty local proscuitto.

“You don’t need heat to cook,” Russo says. “If you don’t want to get your kitchen really hot, but you want something refreshing that you can enjoy with a crisp Rosé, just marinate or cure something.” He points to his freshwater crayfish-sweet corn salad as a straightforward, popular option (see recipes).

Daniel Darvell, executive chef at Minneapolis’ Kitchen Window, recommends lettuce handrolls stuffed with beef (see recipes), which guests can assemble themselves. “Think of them as a tacos without the shell,” he says. “Select a nice, grass-fed beef, a brand with a good history, at a specialty shop like Clancey’s Meats.” For those uncomfortable with the idea of raw steak, he recommends cutting your choice of meat into thin strips (rather than dicing) and searing it briefly on a stovetop or grill (see recipes). “It should be quick, so you won’t heat the kitchen up too much,” Darvell says.

Photo by Maki Strunc Photography

Whether we’re talking meat, fish, or vegetables, the key issue when going raw is quality. “It is important to choose grass-fed bison or lamb rather than grain-fed,” Russo says. “That way, you get a great balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.” As often as possible, heed the trifecta: Sustainable. Local. Fresh. By nature, heirloom fruit and vegetable varieties tend to provide all three. “They don’t travel well, but they’re really delicious, unlike the plastic stuff people fly in,” Russo says. “That’s been hybrid for appearance and longevity, not flavor.”

Remember, always wash produce, even organic, and keep all raw ingredients well refrigerated before serving, he adds. The shorter the time from harvest to table, the better, making all things local and organic your ideal option for a cool, garden-fresh, crowd-pleasing party—no oven required.

Berit Thorkelson is a St. Paul freelance writer.

For more information on resources featured in this story, please see our Buyer's Guide. For the recipes featured in this story, please click here.

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