Tweak or redefine traditional accompaniments
Forget conventional, mayonnaise-laden renditions of potato or pasta salad and coleslaw this summer. When everyone is gathered around the grill, serve your favorite smoky dishes with lighter variations of old-fashioned accompaniments. They’re healthier, but they can be just as satisfying and delicious.
Take your family recipes for pickles, slaw, and pasta salad and turn them upside down with a few tweaks and some new additions.
With grilled foods, pickles are essential. You can turn long English cucumbers or stubby pickling cukes into a 30-minute pickle. Sweet and sour cucumber salad is seasoned with zesty Japanese rice vinegar, sugar, and fresh ginger. The technique - raw vegetables and equal parts vinegar and sugar - also suits carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, or beets, which you can add for color and to vary the flavor. Unlike most pickles, which require lengthy marinating, this one takes far less time to mature. Thinly sliced cucumbers become crisp and spicy after half an hour in the refrigerator. Their texture especially suits foods fresh off the grill.
I have a weakness for traditional deli coleslaw, but even the homemade version is too predictable. Modify the dressing, become imaginative with ingredients, and turn ordinary cabbage into a creative medium. Combine slivers of Savoy and red cabbage with grated carrots. Raisins add sweetness and act as a counterpoint to a spicy dressing. Non-fat Greek yogurt is the base of the creamy dressing, which dramatically reduces calories in the slaw. Toast a top-quality curry powder to bring out the flavors (or substitute toasted sesame seeds, or a fresh herb such as dill or chives). If you don’t want to do all that cabbage chopping, pre-cut broccolini slaw is available in many markets. It’s colorful, nutritious, and stays crisp longer than cabbage.
Redefine pasta salad by substituting whole-wheat penne or another shape for regular pasta. Most whole-wheat pastas have a pleasantly nutty flavor and even if you’ve avoided them before, you’ll enjoy the taste with grilled zucchini, roasted peppers, yellow or red cherry tomatoes, a sprinkling of feta, and fresh basil dressing. Add more vegetables from the grill or slice smoky meats or seafood to transform the side dish into a meal.
If you’re the host, set lean meats or fish over the fire, add a healthy side or two, and you’ll be offering flavor and pleasure in abundance.
Cooking teacher and author Nina Simonds vlogs at www.spoonfulofginger.com. 