The ultimate cooling foods. Photograph: Anna Gordon/Guardian

Cool cuisine: what to eat in a heatwave

This article is more than 8 years old

Don’t fire up the barbecue just because the sun is shining. Go for small plates, refreshing ingredients and anything containing chilli, all washed down with salted lemonade

The default response to a Great British Heatwave is to pull tables and chairs outside, fire up the barbecue and pair the sunburnt lobster look with a charred meat feast. But we’re doing it all wrong. Because although we are drawn to al fresco dining, we should, in fact, be looking for shade and food that keeps us cool. You won’t find residents of countries with hot climates heading outside to eat a heavy meal; they seek little bites of cooling and refreshing ingredients. In the unlikely event that these temperatures are seen again, what can we learn from those with more experience? What should we be eating in the heat?

Sarit Packer, one half of the Israeli chef/writer team behind the restaurant Honey & Co in London, is adamant about eating light meals when temperatures soar. “I think the whole aspect of summer food in Israel is so different to the UK,” she says, noting that light, fresh salads and snacks are the way forward, and “occasionally you throw in a little grilled meat skewer or a few falafel balls”. Cold vine leaves with yogurt and mint “is the best midsummer snack ever”, she adds. Packer makes dolmades from scratch with pre-salted vine leaves in the Honey & Co book, but describes them as “tortuous” to put together. Alternatively, pair good-quality bought stuffed vine leaves with a dip inspired by theirs (see recipe below).

The light bites thing makes sense. Eating large meals sends much of your blood to your stomach to help aid the digestion process. But in hot weather, it is better to have blood close to the surface of the skin to aid cooling – through the evaporation of sweat, if it’s really sticky.

Grazing to stay cool might explain the appeal of meze in the Middle East and tapas in Spain. Of course, Spaniards have gazpacho as a weapon too: chef José Pizarro reckons the “ice-coolness” of blitzed tomatoes and cucumbers is “the only thing that staves off the Extremaduran heat”. Is that, in part, because of the cucumber? This ingredient is a near-constant when thinking about refreshing dishes; all that water content helps us to hydrate, and, when it’s straight from the fridge, to keep the temperature down. Melon has similar qualities. Indeed, it is part of Packer’s “all-time favourite cooling salad” of ice-cold watermelon with feta and olive oil. Cantaloupe melons feature in many an Italian salad; many different varieties of the fruit are pressed into service in Thailand; and watermelons are mentioned again by Asma Khan, a Bengali cook who runs a pop-up restaurant in Soho, Darjeeling Express.

For Khan, kakri (Indian cucumbers) and watermelon sherbet are two things she would most regularly seek on a hot day in Kolkata. We should also cook dishes with chilli, she confirms, as the capsaicin within the peppers causes us to perspire and lose heat more easily. She refers to fresh dishes using plenty of herbs such as mint and basil as well as chilli, perhaps with yoghurt on the side, rather than rich, oily, classically British curries.

If light meals, cooling ingredients and ingredients that warm us up yet chill us out aren’t enough, then the last resort for refreshment is surely a cold drink. I found bucket-sized G&Ts infused with cinnamon bark and orange particularly good on a recent trip to Spain. But Kahn’s suggestion of nimbu pani – a salted lemonade – is probably a more sensible and hydrating suggestion.

With all this in mind, could a light salad involving watermelon, cucumber, fresh herbs and chilli be the ultimate cooling dish? Served cold but with a definite kick, this Thai-style dish is certainly more appropriate for temperatures hovering around the 30s than a hotdog or burger. Khan’s nimbu pani also really hits the spot; the pinch of salt is superb.

Thai-style watermelon and cucumber salad

Thai Watermelon and Cucumber Salad — Photograph: Anna Gordon/Guardian

(Serves 4)

1 tsp Sriracha chilli sauce

4 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp granulated golden sugar

Juice of 1 lime

750g watermelon, cut into 3cm cubes

200g cucumber, peeled and cut into pound-coin-thick crescents

1 birdseye chilli, finely sliced

10g fresh mint, rolled and chopped

10g fresh basil (preferably Thai), torn

25g toasted and roughly chopped salted peanuts

Ensure your ingredients are fridge-cold before preparing the salad. Mix the chilli sauce, fish sauce, ginger, sugar and lime juice in the base of a large mixing bowl. Add the watermelon, cucumber and chilli. Toss gently but well to ensure the fruit and vegetables are well coated. Let this sit in the fridge for a few minutes. Add three-quarters of the herbs and peanuts. Mix well and serve immediately, with the remaining herbs and nuts scattered over the top. Serve with salmon.

Asma Khan’s nimbu pani

Salted Lemonade — Photograph: Anna Gordon/Guardian

(Serves 4)

1 litre water

2 lemons, juiced

2 tsp granulated sugar

½ tsp Himalayan rock salt

2 stems fresh mint

1 lime, cut into wedges

Stir the first four ingredients until the sugar and salt has dissolved. Taste for acidity – add more sugar if necessary. Add the fresh mint and chill. Serve with a wedge of lime.