phew. Talk about a heatwave in Cape Town! It’s been so hot today that the mere thought of cooking anything leaves me feeling all hot and bothered. So while I was dashing around town today in a sweltering swoon, I started dreaming of the perfect refreshing meal to have on a hot summer evening. The kind of cooling meal that would not involve standing in front of a scorching oven or stirring a bubbling pot.

Fortunately NoMU is one step ahead of me with their cool recipe ideas. Take a look at my ideal menu for a refreshing summer soirée from their recipe cards.

Salad ingredients:
¼ watermelon, skin removed and cut into cubes
½ cup peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped
2 handfuls fresh coriander, stalks removed
2 handfuls fresh mint, stalks removed
1 small bunch of radishes, finely sliced

 Dressing ingredients:
2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
½ red chilli, finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
6 tbsp canola or peanut oil
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp NoMU Oriental Rub Lime juice
NoMU Pepper NoMU Salt

To make the dressing, place the ginger, chilli, soy sauce, canola oil, sesame oil and NoMU Oriental Rub into a small bowl and add a dash of lime juice. Season to taste, adding more lime juice if needed. In a bowl, mix the watermelon and dressing together gently.

To plate, place all the ingredients separately onto serving plates, allowing your guests to mix their own salads. Serves 4

find out what’s next on the menu for the perfect summer meal, after the jump.

Next, a fresh and simple couscous salad:

click here for the Pine Nut & Herb Couscous recipe.

and to finish it off on a sweet note, a cooling panna cotta:

click here for the Vanilla Panna Cotta with Pomegranate Jelly recipe.