No-Cook
21 recipes
Tiramisu
Espresso-soaked savoiardi layered with a whipped mascarpone cream and dusted with bitter cocoa. Made with pasteurized yolks so nothing needs cooking, and it sets overnight in the refrigerator.
Tabbouleh
A Lebanese parsley salad, not a grain salad: chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint far outweigh the fine bulgur, with tomato, lemon, and olive oil in support.
Sunomono Cucumber Salad
Paper-thin cucumber salted and wrung dry, then dressed in sweetened rice vinegar. The squeeze is what makes it: the slices stay crisp instead of turning watery in the bowl.
Som Tam Green Papaya Salad
Shredded unripe papaya pounded in a mortar with garlic, chile, palm sugar, lime and fish sauce, plus long beans and tomato. Sour, salty, sweet and hot, bruised rather than tossed.
Smashed Cucumber Salad
Cucumbers bruised open with the flat of a knife so their ragged edges hold a dressing of Chinkiang black vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and toasted sesame oil. Salting first keeps it from going watery.
Pimento Cheese Dip
The Southern spread: sharp cheddar grated by hand so it stays in strands, bound with mayonnaise and pimentos and seasoned with mustard and cayenne. Ready in the time it takes to grate the cheese.
Peruvian Ceviche
Cubes of firm white fish tossed with fresh lime juice, red onion, chile, and cilantro, served with boiled sweet potato and corn. The lime does its work in minutes, not hours.
Panzanella
Day-old country bread torn into ripe tomatoes and their salted juices, with red onion softened in vinegar and torn basil. The bread should end up soft in places and chewy in others.
Overnight Oats with Berries
Rolled oats and chia seeds soaked cold in almond milk until they thicken to a soft pudding, then topped with fresh berries. Ten minutes of work the night before, no cooking.
Orange and Olive Salad
A Moroccan first-course salad of cold orange rounds with salty oil-cured olives and sharp raw onion, dressed with cumin and cinnamon. It comes together in one bowl and no heat.
Mango Lassi
Ripe mango blended with whole-milk yogurt, a little sugar and cardamom into a thick pourable drink. The mango does most of the sweetening, so use fruit that is soft and fragrant.
Lemon Icebox Pie
A cold-set pie of sweetened condensed milk and fresh lemon juice in a pressed crumb crust, sharp and dense, with softly whipped cream folded through to lighten the filling.
Jicama and Citrus Salad
Cold jicama batons and orange rounds under lime juice, ground chile, and salt. The jicama stays snappy and faintly sweet, which is the whole point of serving it raw.
Horiatiki Greek Village Salad
Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, and onion under a slab of feta, dressed with nothing but olive oil and dried oregano. It stands or falls on the tomatoes.
Haydari Yogurt Dip
A thick Turkish meze of strained yogurt whipped with raw garlic, dill and mint, finished with a spoonful of warm chile butter poured over the top.
Greek Yogurt with Honey and Walnuts
Thick strained yogurt under toasted walnuts and a spoonful of honey. Four ingredients, no cooking, and the contrast between cold tart yogurt and warm honey is the whole point.
Fattoush
A Levantine chopped salad of romaine, tomato, cucumber, and radish in a lemon and sumac dressing, tossed with toasted flatbread that softens at the edges as it sits.
Chocolate Mousse
Bittersweet chocolate lightened with whipped egg white and cream so it sets airy and rich without gelatin. Pasteurized eggs keep the uncooked mixture safe to eat.
Chicken Caesar Wrap
Sliced cooked chicken, crisp romaine and grated Parmesan tossed in a garlicky anchovy dressing and rolled tight in a flour tortilla. Assembly only, built on chicken you already have.
Basil Pesto
Basil, pine nuts, garlic and Parmesan worked into a coarse green paste with olive oil. Ground rather than blended, so it stays textured and does not turn bitter.
Atchara Pickled Green Papaya
Shredded green papaya drawn down with salt, then packed with ginger, carrot and garlic in a cold sweet-sour cane vinegar brine. A refrigerator pickle meant to cut through fried and grilled food.