Deliciously Simple Dinners to Make Without an Oven
When you come in from a day in the summer heat, the last thing you need is to heat up your kitchen with a hot oven. For those nights when you want something fast that also dazzles your taste buds, try our fresh takes on chicken salad and the Bành Mí sandwich. Both recipes are full of flavor and can be put together quickly and easily.
Creamy Miso Chicken Salad
Cook Time 30 minutes | Servings 4-6
Go beyond the traditional chicken salad with this Asian-inspired recipe. A store-bought rotisserie chicken is the key to this quick and easy meal. A flavorful miso dressing is combined with chicken, crunchy almonds and refreshing cucumbers for a perfect light meal.
Salad Ingredients
1 small rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat shredded (about 4 cups)
½ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup mint, chopped
2-3 Persian cucumbers, chopped
6 scallions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 head of green leaf lettuce, cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick ribbons
Miso dressing Ingredients
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
½ cup white miso
½ cup water
½ cup grapeseed oil
How to make it
Combine 1/3 cup almonds, Dijon, honey, ginger, lime juice, miso, water and grapeseed oil in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Transfer dressing to a lidded container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days.
To make the salad, combine 2/3 of the dressing with the shredded chicken, scallions, cilantro, mint, cucumbers and remaining almonds. Mix thoroughly. Serve chicken salad on a bed of chopped green leaf lettuce with reserved dressing on the side.
Bánh Mì-Style Tuna Sandwich
Cook Time 15 minutes | Servings 2
Bành Mí is Vietnamese for “bread,” but is most often used to refer to the tasty sandwiches that originated from that country that contain meats, pickled vegetables and fresh herbs. Though they are usually eaten for breakfast or a snack in Vietnam, our version makes a perfect, light dinner option. We also include a recipe for making simple, quick pickled veggies—which you can make up to three weeks ahead—that will take your sandwich to the next level. And if you’re not sure what wine pairs with Bành Mí or with tuna, try a dry white wine such as a dry Riesling or pinot noir.
Ingredients
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 can olive oil packed tuna
½ cup Cilantro
Pickled carrots & daikon
2 demi baguettes, sliced lengthwise
Quick Pickled Daikon and Carrots Ingredients
2 Daikon Radishes
2 large carrots
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
How to make it
Pickling the daikon and carrots
Combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a large sauce pan. Heat until sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool. Peel carrots & daikon. Cut into 3-inch sections and julienne on a mandolin or slice into thin matchsticks. Loosely pack carrots and daikon into clean jars (4 half pint mason jars). Pour pickling liquid over the vegetables, making sure they are completed covered. Cap jars and leave at room temp for 2-3 hours. Chill 30 minutes before serving. Pickles keep for 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Making the sandwiches
Mix together mayonnaise and Sriracha. In a medium bowl, stir together one can of drained albacore tuna with mayo. Divide tuna between the two baguettes. Top with cilantro and pickled daikon and carrots.