Summer Recipes: A Week Of Easy And Seasonal Menus

In summer, high temperatures are not conducive to complicated culinary preparations and long cooking times. Fortunately, the many fruits and vegetables in season allow for the creation of no-cook or almost no-cook appetizers, main dishes, and desserts! If you're looking for easy and seasonal recipe ideas, here's a week's worth of menus featuring summer's star products like zucchini, tomatoes, and melon.

What are the seasonal fruits and vegetables in summer?

The week of easy menus that I propose below focuses on fresh and seasonal products.

Summer is the time of year when you can easily find sun-ripened fruits and vegetables on market stalls and in supermarkets, such as:
• tomatoes
• zucchini
• bell peppers
• eggplant
• cucumber
• melon
• watermelon
• peaches and nectarines
• apricots
• red fruits like raspberries and the last strawberries of the year.

It is also the season to enhance dishes and composed salads with fresh herbs such as basil, mint, and parsley.

What to cook in summer?

In the heart of summer, especially during a heatwave, it becomes almost impossible to do long cooking without raising the temperature in your home.

That's why, in the summer menu program below, I have completely banned recipes that require oven cooking. For meats and fish, I preferred recipes that can be cooked outside on the barbecue or plancha...

And of course, I have focused on cold preparations such as salads, spreads, and savory or sweet verrines. So in this week's seasonal menus, you will find refreshing appetizers, main courses, and desserts made with juicy vegetables, fruits, and dairy products that are also hydrating.

The most indulgent ones are not forgotten, with two very simple ice cream and sorbet recipes to prepare, even if you don't have an ice cream maker!

How are these menus composed?

To establish the program below for a week, I have selected the best summer recipes from Gralon. You can find all the recipes from the program on our website, just click on the corresponding link!

In imagining this week of easy menus, I have strived to vary the pleasures but also to balance the meals by integrating a source of proteins and complex carbohydrates (starches) each time.

If the notion of balanced nutrition interests you, I invite you to read our article on the subject: eating balanced thanks to the 7 food families.