This August menu is essentially designed for beating the heat on seriously sweltering summer days, when ice-cold everything seems appropriate. We’re on the right track, I think, with a chilled soup, followed by a room-temperature vegetable salad and a dessert straight from the refrigerator.
The avocado soup — a cool, savory smoothie of avocado, lime juice, yogurt and olive oil — couldn’t be easier: Everything goes in the blender, swirled to a silky purée. I like to keep a jug in the fridge, ready to pour into chilled bowls or glasses, so it’s well worth the 15-minute investment.
Many know the picnic-standard three bean salad, made from three cans of beans (kidney, garbanzo and string), a sliced onion and cider vinegar. I like that, too, but here I’m proposing a different sort of bean salad, the kind you can make only in late summer when all of the great fresh beans are available.
Right now, at the market, you’ll probably find fresh shelling beans piled high in their pods. Grab a few pounds and shuck them, then simmer them for the best-tasting, creamiest beans imaginable. While you’re at it, scout the market for ribbonlike Romano beans, also called runner beans or flat beans. They have extraordinary texture and flavor when cooked. Then you’ll need some tender green beans, which can sometimes be a problem. Look for the smallest ones.
Cooked to perfection, these seasonal treats need only a zesty vinaigrette. I’d be perfectly happy with only dressed beans. But to make the salad more substantial, I added halved fingerling potatoes, cherry tomatoes and boiled eggs. Arranged on a platter with arugula and basil, it’s the very picture of a summery dinner salad. For me, the beans are the stars, though for all intents and purposes, this is a vegetable version of salade niçoise. Adding good canned tuna, olives or anchovy fillets, or a dab of aioli would not be out of line.
“Icebox cake” is fun to say, even if no one has an icebox anymore. It’s usually a combination of cake or cookies and whipped cream, meant to get good and soggy, and served cold. I modeled mine after tiramisù and filled it with Italian ladyfingers (savoiardi). They’re available in supermarkets and Italian food shops, and are a lifesaver if you ever need to put together an easy dessert. Layered with sliced juicy nectarines, raspberries and an almond-scented cream, the cake is ready after a few hours of chilling.
Prepare the cake in the afternoon or a day in advance, and serve it as a welcome cooling dessert after this relatively light meal. But it may best as a snack from the fridge at midnight, after a bout of tossing and turning, because it’s too hot to sleep.
