8 best side dishes for warm weather
- Jun 12
- 17 min read
A collection of less obvious side dishes created for specific recipes. But, they all work with a far wider range of dishes. Some are classics, others a little more leftfield and many are a good way to stop leftovers going to waste. Issue no.1 of what I hope to be an occasional series focuses on side dishes that work well in warm weather. So, ideal for those who live in hot places or a Northern Hemisphere spring or summer meal.
My hidden sides
This site is effectively a melange of recipes based on seasonal or available ingredients—or sometimes simply the mood I'm in—shaken together in a cocktail of food stories, bits of food culture history that fascinate me, thinking about pairing drinks with food and always considering vegan and vegetarian alternatives published with every recipe.
Side dishes are a special thing. Most of us know and love "the classics", and there's nothing wrong with that. However, many of us like something new and different, like to think about how a side dish really can elevate a meal. I certainly do and I create special side dishes for many of my recipes. Often these grow out of my commitment to a zero food waste goal; getting creative with things that might otherwise end up in the composter, which means the vast majority of them are not about splurging on expensive ingredients but using leftovers in a thoughtful way. All good.
The only problem with it is—and I'm a little embarrassed to say that it's only recently occurred to me—is that because so many of these side dishes have been created specifically to complement my main course recipes, I publish them on the page for that recipe. This means that if the main course doesn't grab your attention, you're not going to ever be aware of the nifty side dishes tucked away on that page.
So , because every one of these side dishes works well with a broad range of other main courses—or as party food—I thought it a good idea to start publishing little collections of them so that you might spot something that would work with your own favourite main courses.
You deserve it, but so do these little side dishes. If I say so myself, some of them are amongst my best work. Thank you, dahlings! You're too kind.
So here's the first of these seasonal collections in no particular order at all, my 8 best side dishes for warm weather. Enjoy.
8 best side dishes for warm weather
Marmite panko baby courgettes and samphire with black garlic
This was originally created for my recipe for Bacon and Seafood Pie, one of my annual rethinks of the traditional British fish pie. This particular iteration was dedicated to top Aussie star Kylie Minogue since her French rosé wines inspired it.
Here, the deep yeasty flavour of the marmite and seascape of samphire are a lovely contrast to the creamy, herby seafood pie.
It also works well with:
Barbecued seafood or surf 'n turf
Glazed pork belly, steaks or lamb chops
Baked vegetarian dishes showcasing aubergines
Grilled or fried calamari
Hot smoked salmon
Ingredients
Approx. 2 or 3 baby courgettes per diner
1 tspn Marmite (Sorry, Kylie, I tried to get Vegemite...)
2 tbspns Mirin
2 tbspns rice wine vinegar (or wine vinegar)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tbspns cornflour
1 egg, whisked
Approx. 100g fresh samphire
1.5 tbspns unsalted butter
1 tspn black garlic paste
salt and pepper to taste
Cooking method
Prick your baby courgettes and steam in a microwave steamer for approx. 2.5mins (900W). Remove and allow them to cool fully. NB: ordinarily, one would baste or marinade steamed ingredients while still warm because it helps absorption. You can do that, but only if you want the yeasty flavours of the Marmite basting liquor to be more prominent in the final dish
Once cooled, slice in half vertically. Mix the Marmite, rice wine vinegar and mirin in a small dish and liberally baste the courgettes on all sides, allowing it to be absorbed for about 20mins or so, re-basting about halfway through
Heat your oil on a medium-high heat. This is not deep-frying; you want approx. 2.5cm of oil in the pan. While your oil is heating, set up your "frying station"; separate bowls with the sifted cornflour, whisked egg bath; and panko breadcrumbs. Test that the oil is hot enough by throwing a few panko breadcrumbs into the pan. If they sizzle healthily, you're good to go. If they sizzle furiously, slightly reduce the heat. Panko can cook too quickly at even moderate temperatures
Run it assembly line style; coat in the cornflour (which absorbs liquid) and shake off; bathe in the whisked egg; coat in the panko, pressing down hard to ensure enough adheres. NB: they don't have to be fully coated. Lower into the oil using tongs
Panko cooks very quickly, so you only want about a minute or so on each side. Use the tongs to check frequently. As soon as each slice is golden brown on all sides, remove using tongs and lay on a plate covered with paper kitchen towel to absorb excess oil. If you cook these before you cook the samphire, place in the oven to keep warm
Add approx. 1.5tbspns unsalted butter to a clean pan. As you melt it on a medium heat, place the black garlic paste on top of the butter so it doesn't burn. As soon as the butter has melted and begins to fizz, stir vigorously and add the samphire. Continue stirring and flipping with a spatula so that the samphire is fully coated with the butter and garlic mixture
If, after about 2 to 3mins, the samphire has not yet softened, slightly increase the heat, being diligent to continuously "flip" it to make sure nothing catches or burns. As soon as the samphire is cooked (but al dente) remove from the heat
Plate the side dishes together and take all to table for diners to help themselves
Cob and fresh fig salad with tahini and pomegranate dressing
This was originally created for my recipe for Lebanese white fish en papillote, a light summery dish of white fish baked in paper with tomatoes and a range of delicate spices.
In this context, the smooth and distinctive flavours of cob lettuce and fresh figs that won't overpower the delicate white fish also give a little contrasting bump with the tahini and pomegranate molasses.
It works well with:
Middle Eastern chicken and poultry dishes
Turkish lamb pide
Vegetarian nut roasts or cutlets
Grilled lamb chops
Falafel
Ingredients
Approx. ½ a cob lettuce per diner; washed and leaves hand-torn
Cucumber; (about 5 to 6cm per diner), roughly chopped into pieces
2 fresh figs per diner; quartered vertically
½cup Greek-style yoghurt
2tbspns tahini, ideally the creamy kind
2tspns of pomegranate molasses
salt and pepper to taste
Cooking method
Tear washed cob lettuce leaves into a serving bowl or individual salad dishes. Add the chopped cucumber and toss
Arrange the fresh figs, cut vertically into quarters on the top of the salad
Create the dressing by mixing half a cup of (zero-fat) yoghurt, 2tbsns of tahini and 2tspns of pomegranate molasses. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Dress the salad just before taking to table—or at table if you have fussy guests
Turmeric and green chilli ice cream
I've been making savoury ice creams, cheesecakes and sorbets since I was a teenager, long before the concept became fashionable. In fact, the bright idea came to me precisely because I was living so far from "fine dining" at the time, except for what I enjoyed at my parents' table. These early attempts were mostly created to be part of a starter or as a palate cleanser between courses. But occasionally, they could be interesting contrapunto notes for a pudding course.
Digging into the early days of the site, this is an ice cream I created to pair with a starter of queen scallops with cashews, a garnish salad and seaweed chutney, all with Asian influences, on a little sojourn with my friend Brian to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, famed for its exquisite cold-water seafood. On the whole I think it pairs best with seafood, hot or cold. Behold, it's easy to make, so don't whine too much...
It also works well with:
Barbecued lobster or large shrimp—slap this on, still frozen the minute it's broken open to expose the white meat
Ceviche—as an unexpected topping
Cold soups: pimp your iced cucumber soup; a twist for gazpacho; or serve Mulligatawny as a chilled soup with with an unexpected floater...
Beef carpaccio, beef tartare or as a riff on traditional vitello tonnato
A contrast flavour for a pudding of rhubarb candied with ginger and sugar
Ingredients
2 tspns turmeric
2 hot green chillies; deseeded and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, very finely grated
A little sesame oil; approx. 2 tspns
Salt and pepper to taste
Approx. 100ml fresh single cream (it REALLY must not be double cream)
Approx. 50g of crowdie (If you can't get this Scottish soft cheese, substitute with Quark or a cream cheese, the "chunkier" the better, but not cottage cheese
Cooking method
Start four hours before you serve. Do NOT prepare this dish too far in advance (such as the night before). It is not a true ice cream. Leaving it in the freezer too long results in too many ice crystals forming inside it, spoiling its "melting creamy" effect upon serving
Heat the sesame oil in a small saucepan (ideally quite deep) until it's hot, but not scalding. Add the finely grated garlic and the sliced green chillies (without waiting for the garlic to brown)
When the chillies show the first signs of softening, add half of the turmeric, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Before the turmeric catches (it will quickly bond with whatever oil remains in the pan), starting pouring in the single cream, still stirring
Reduce the heat and continue to stir. A bit like with other "cooked cream" dishes (e.g. panna cotta) you want the cream to thicken without boiling. But, here, not as much so. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool naturally (or on a window sill in the mode of the old-fashioned apple pie) for at least 20 mins
Once the mixture is cooled to at least room temperature, add the rest of the cream, turmeric and crowdie (or cream cheese or Quark) and stir in. Then blend finely using a hand-held blender or vigorously whisk (you can also use a conventional blender, but obviously you will loose some of the mixture)
Decant to a dish suitable for freezing. And, only when fully cooled, cover and place in the freezer. About every hour before serving, remove from the freezer and vigorously stir the mixture (even when only half-frozen) with a standard fork (it's all about preventing the ice crystals, baby!). Then press down into the dish with a smooth-surfaced implement—such as a large spoon or spatula—before returning to the freezer
Remove from the freezer at the last minute and spoon onto the dish it's accompanying. It will melt very quickly, even if that is a cold dish
Bubble 'n squeak cakes
These little delights were inspired by the British tradition of bubble 'n squeak, a dish traditionally made from the vegetable leftovers of a Sunday roast or a supper involving frying up mashed/roast potatoes and other leftover vegetables—cabbage, Brussels sprouts, parsnips or carrots—to create a pan-fried "cake" with a crispy outer layer. It would often be served as a hearty breakfast the day after in more affluent households or as part of a Monday supper, for example with sausages.
I created them for my Surf 'n turf with monkey gland sauce a reinvention of the legendary Southern African dish of steak with monkey gland sauce—disputes still exist over its origins—to replace the roasted or sautéd potatoes with which it was traditionally served. Part of it was working with ingredients that might realistically be made from the leftovers of a Sunday roast, but I did tart them up a bit. While my recipe is to cook them from scratch, you can substitute with leftover ingredients as available e.g potatoes or cabbage. Because of the baking powder and the vegetables with less stodginess (swede, sweetcorn and cabbage) they are lighter than many potato sides and therefore great in warmer weather.
Originally served dressed with my take on the curiously named monkey gland sauce (no, no monkeys were harmed), these are highly adaptable beasts, whether as a side dish or in smaller sizes with dipping sauces as finger food at a party. Clearly they work well with steak—and seafood—but because their flavour is fairly neutral, they adapt well to being dressed with many sauces and gravies
They also work well with:
Meatloaf or nutroasts served with tomato-based sauces
Steak, chicken or duck fillets served with sauces e.g. Béarnaise, green peppercorn, mushroom etc.
Battered fried fish as an alternative to fries
Vegetable, meat or poultry stews usually served with potatoes
As an alternative to bread in egg-led dishes e.g. Eggs Benedict
Ingredients
½ a red onion, chopped
1 vegetable stock cube, diluted in approx. 500ml water
1 swede (or turnip); roughly cubed
1 large potato; peeled, roughly cubed
¼ small cabbage; chopped into cubes
Approx. 200g fresh baby sweetcorn; finely chopped
1 tspn baking powder
1 tbspn virgin olive oil
1 egg, whisked
Approx. 4 tbspns cornflour
Approx. 1 cup golden breadcrumbs (or panko breadcrumbs)
enough sunflower oil to shallow fry (if frying)
Cooking method
Add the swede, potato and cabbage to a pot with a lid. Pour in the diluted vegetable stock, season with salt and bring to the boil. Cover and reduce the heat. Simmer until all are cooked; not soggy, but nor al dente. Drain and mash roughly
Once cooled, add the mixed mash to a mixing bowl. Add the chopped raw onion and baby sweetcorn. Knead gently. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in 1 tbspn of virgin olive and baking powder, and mix in using clean fingers. Allow to rest while you prepare the "frying stations". Once these are set up—a dish with the cornflour, another with the whisked egg, and a third with the breadcrumbs—heat the oil on a medium-high heat
Work the ingredient mix into small "cakes". In sequence, coat each one in cornflour (to absorb excess moisture); dip into the the egg and finally coat in breadcrumbs. Then shallow fry them in the oil for a few minutes on each side; until lightly golden brown. NB: they may swell when frying, but will shrink back in size once removed from the oil. NB: you can also cook them in an air fryer or, as I did here, in a halogen oven on a non-stick browning tray
Drain on kitchen towel then place on a non-stick baking tray and finish browning in the oven. Keep warm until serving
Beetroot soured cream spätzle
Spätzle are wonderfully versatile. Sometimes called "German pasta"they are a widely used in Germany and many Central European cultures both for main courses and as a side dish. Like pasta, depending where you are, they can be bought dried, fresh or are fairly easy to make from scratch. They come in versions with or without egg, the former being vegan.
They are often used as an alternative to potatoes or rice as an accompaniment, simply dressed with a little butter—particularly in Thuringia in central Germany. Made with potato flour, they are lighter and fluffier than pasta or gnocchi when cooked. This aspect makes them particularly good in warmer weather.
This version can be used as both a stand-out side dish or a lactovegetarian meal in itself. I often make it in large quantities, dishing it up as a side for supper and then enjoying the left over spätzle as a delicious meal the day after, warmed up or cold—it's particularly good cold in warmer weather.
I originally created this version as a side for my recipe for Mustard chicken with beetroot soured cream spätzle, but have served it with many other dishes. Incidentally, despite the creamed horseradish, kids love this dish because of the sweetness of the healthy beetroot and the pink colour.
They also work well with:
Grilled chicken, pork chops or fish without heavy sauces
Mackerel, trout or salmon in particular, fresh or smoked.
Rich beef, sausage or mushroom stews; carbonnades, Stroganoff, etc.
Roast meats, poultry or nutroasts, or cold as a salad at a barbecue
Oven-baked stuffed Portabello mushrooms
Ingredients
Approx.150g (dried) spätzle
3 small cooked beetroot (or pickled beetroot); drained and cubed
2 tspns of fresh garlic, finely chopped (optional)
3 echalion shalllots (or an onion), finely cubed
2 heaped tspns creamed horseradish
Approx. 150ml soured cream
A generous clutch of curly leaf parsley; finely chopped
Approx. 1tbspn rapeseed oil (or sunflower or butter equivalent)
salt and pepper to taste
Cooking method
You can do this in advance. Heat the oil on a medium heat in a frying pan. Add the shallots and sauté. When they begin to soften, add the garlic (if using) and stir in. When the shallots begin to caramelise, remove from the heat and place to one side
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and boil the spätzle until ready, usually 10 to 12mins with the dried variety.
About 3mins before your spätzle are cooked, add the beetroot to the pan of shallots and reheat on a medium-high
, further caramelising the shallots and fully heating the beetroot. While you're doing this, stir the creamed horseradish into the soured cream
Drain the cooked spätzle and return to the hot—but fully drained—pot. Add the beetroot and shallots and fold in. Add the soured cream and fold in. Finally add the chopped parsley and fold it in too. Season as needed. Re-cover and place to one side while you plate your main dish. Plate and take to table
Mushroom bhaji
At the risk of "mansplaining" to those of you who already know, "bhaji' is a term used in Indian cooking to refer to side dishes in general, not to their method of cooking. So, it doesn't just refer to those ever-popular fried onion bhajis. The majority of mushroom bhaji don't involve flour or batter and are effectively "wokked" vegan dishes. They come in all different combinations of spices and herbs with many regions having a signature version.
Since I cook a lot of Indian and Indian Diasporan food, mushroom bhaji is a regular side dish on my table; quick, easy and delicious. I often do versions including more dramatic flavours—cumin seeds, feed seeds, garlic and ginger, lime zest etc. But, here I'm intentionally doing the version I cooked to accompany my Coronation Chicken Korma - 1970s reverb recipe because I think it is one of the most versatile, not only suited to this mild "British curry house" korma but to dishes way outside the Indian cooking canon too. I found this dish a lifesaver when cooking for kids who would only eat Pizza Margherita, sprinkled over the top; bliss for adults eating in fear of blandness.
They also work well with:
Any Indian curry—hot, mild; meat, chicken or veggie/vegan
Simple grilled or seared chicken, steak or fish (not salmon)—a little spiciness on the side
Sausages; meat or plant-based
Mac 'n cheese, simple pasta bakes, omelettes and quick egg dishes
Meal salads—added cold or warm to a salad tiède
Ingredients
250g mushrooms; sliced
2 tbspns peanut oil (or other vegetable oil)
½ tspn amchoor (i.e. green mango powder)
2 large hot red chillies; deseeded and finely sliced
a clutch of fresh coriander; roughly chopped
salt to taste
Cooking method
This dish only takes 5 or 6mins to cook. For best results, time it to be ready when your main dish is. In a frying pan, heat the oil on a medium heat. When hot, add the mushrooms and sauté, stirring regularly. Once they are sealed and begin to change colour, add the sliced chillies and mix in
When the mushrooms begin to soften, sprinkle over the amchoor and stir in, and season with a little salt
Once the mushrooms are optimally cooked, turn off the heat and add the coriander, stirring in, not cooking it, but allowing it to be wilted by only the residual heat of the pan
Plate or take to table in a serving dish
Thin kale lasagne with sesame seeds
Surprisingly, not a hipster contemporary side dish, but my reconstruction from Renaissance Italian cooking that I included in my recipe for Spring chicken in the early days of this site. Lifted and revived from a tome in the British Library, apparently this (or something similar) was all the rage as a side dish with poultry and lamb among the elite of 16th-century Verona. Yep, perhaps the poor old Juliet actually ate a version bathed in poison...
Forget the thick, deep lasagnes you know. This is a thin, almost biscuit-like affair of only three layers of lasagne sheets without bulky filling between them. Hence, it nets out at having a fairly crisp top. It's also great as a lunch main course or starter with simple garnish or salad. If there is any guidance, it's that because, unlike better-known lasagnes, it doesn't feature thick sauces, it works best with dishes accompanied by some form of sauce or gravy of their own. If your main doesn't feature a sauce (e.g. grilled chicken) dress the lasagne at table as one would a salad: a little olive oil and balsamico.
In addition to chicken cooked in this historic manner, it also works very well with:
Roasted poultry or meat — surprise them with what isn't mashed or roast potatoes
Thick casseroles or cassoulets—meat, poultry or plant-based. It is spectacular with Italian lamb casseroles cooked with white wine
Japanese wokked teriyaki beef or duck—the sesame is the fusion bridge
Steak, chicken, pork or vegetable cutlets with creamy (mushroom) sauces
Seafood or fish in thick tomato sauces
Ingredients
3 lasagne pasta sheets; fresh or cooked and drained
approx. 60 to 70g kale; simmered for approx. 20mins, drained, shredded
Approx. 2 tbspns sesame seeds
A very generous clutch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
A very generous clutch of fresh basil
A very generous clutch of fresh coriander
a little olive oil
Approx. 150g mascarpone
the juice of 1 lemon
A little strongly flavoured hard cheese (such parmesan or aged pecorino)
Cooking method
While the kale and lasagne sheets cool and drain, create your "pesto", which you use instead of béchamel. Roughly cut the parsley, coriander and basil and place into a suitably deep receptacle (or the food processor). Add the lemon juice and mascarpone. Using a handheld blender or food processor, blend into a smooth pesto, adding a little olive oil at a time as needed.
Lay out some baking foil on a flat baking tray and very lightly coat with a little olive oil. Because this lasagne is thin, it doesn't need a deep tray. Fold the edges of the foil to form little "sides" to catch the minimal liquid escaping during cooking. This method makes it much easier to serve when ready
Gently lay out the base sheet of lasagne. Add a thin layer of the pesto using a spatula or butter knife. Add a sprinkling of the drained kale and sprinkle with sesame seeds
Repeat this process building up three layers (remember, this is a side dish). Once you've added the pesto, kale and sesame seeds to the top layer, add a little grated strong cheese (e.g. pecorino or parmesan ) But, don't overdo it
Bake in a pre-heated oven on a medium heat for about 20min or until the top layer is browned. You can do this as much as a few days before and re-heat before plating. Alternatively, time it to be ready when your main course is served. Cut into slices and plate and take to table with your main dish
Camargue red rice salad
I originally created this salad to accompany my take on a Flemish vispotje (fish pan) a kind of fish meal soup with egg in the recipe Hollandaise fish pot and Camargue red rice salad.
Camargue red rice is an unpolished, whole-grain rice cultivated in the French wetlands region from which it takes its name. It has a wonderful nutty flavour and slightly chewy texture when cooked. It's also one of the healthiest rices in the world.
As this salad, it's perfectly suited to warmer weather, both as a side dish or as a vegan meal on its own. Nonetheless, it also works wonderfully as a hot side dish. If serving it hot, first make it as a salad as below—including with the vinaigrette—then add two tablespoons of water, cover and heat in the microwave until piping hot, stirring halfway through. This is better than heating in the pan that tends to overcook the raw carrots.
In addition to this fish dish, it also works very well with:
Barbecued meats, especially lamb
Thick meat, poultry or vegetable casseroles as an alternative to white rice
Pan seared fish—especially tuna—or seafood
With tagines as an alternative to couscous
With Southern European oven-roasted or panned dishes with tomato sauces
Ingredients
1 cup red Camargue rice, washed, boiled and drained
1 red bell pepper, finely cubed
2 or 3 raw green Turkish peppers, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and roughly grated
2 tbspns very finely minced pitted black olives
2 tbspns chopped capers
1 dried bay leaf
3 tbspns of very finely chopped (or freeze dried) tarragon
The juice and zest of 1 fresh lemon
5 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
4 tbspns good quality white wine vinegar
salt and black pepper to flavour
Cooking method
Make your dressing before anything else. In a bottle, add 3 tbspns of the olive oil, the white wine vinegar and 2 tbspns of the tarragon. Shake violently and store in a dark cool place, allowing the tarragon to infuse
Boil the washed red Camargue rice in salted water with a bay leaf. NB: Camargue rice usually needs a little more water than basmati or white rice; simply top up if with a little more water if needed. When cooked—its texture should remain a little "chewy" though all the grains should be cooked—drain and cool
In a frying pan, sauté the cubed red bell pepper in about 1 tbspn of the olive oil on a medium heat with the chopped capers, stirring constantly and adding 1 tbspn of the tarragon about halfway through cooking. When the peppers are cooked, remove from the heat and allow to partially cool
Add the cooled Camargue rice to a large bowl—it's okay if it's still lukewarm—and stir in the grated raw carrot. Dress with the lemon juice, stir in and allow it to seep in
Add both the cooked red bell pepper (with its juices) and the raw green Turkish pepper and stir in. Add the minced black olives and stir in
Dress with black pepper and add your tarragon vinaigrette dressing and stir in. Store in the fridge until you allow it to return to return to room temperature before you take to table, garnishing with the lemon zest
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