Summer Cooking Ideas: Spinach Thingamabobs, Spring Rolls & That Peanut / Sesame Thing

Mark W. Reinhardt
May 31, 2014
3 min read

When the weather gets hot everyone likes to eat cool foods. For me that often means ordering cold sesame noodles as an appetizer in Chinese restaurants, or having spring rolls with a peanut dipping sauce in Thai or Vietnamese restaurants. The good news is that you can make these dishes, and more, at home all summer long. There are plenty of recipes for sauces on the Internet. Some recipes use peanuts but not sesame, and some use sesame but not peanuts. Many use both. Here’s a recipe I’ve had good luck with over the years: Peanut / Sesame Sauce 1 clove garlic 3 T peanut butter 2 T soy sauce (use Tamari and make this recipe gluten-free!) 1 T rice vinegar 1½ t sugar, or other sweetener 3/4 t toasted sesame oil ¼ t (…or more or less to taste) sriracha pepper sauce Mince garlic in a food processor or blender. (A mini food processor is ideal!) Add the remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly. More or less water can be used to get the desired consistency—e.g., thicker for dips, thinner for sauces or salad dressing. Once you’ve made the sauce it will keep well in the refrigerator. But who wants to do that? There are plenty of great ways to put it to use. Sesame Noodles For sesame noodles I use whole wheat angel hair pasta, but any kind of wheat or rice noodles will work fine. They can be served either chilled or at room temperature. Just toss with the sauce above and top with your favorite toppings. Usually I see these served with chopped cucumber (cucumber and peanuts go really well together) and/or chopped peanuts on top, but feel free to experiment with other things as well, either alone or in combination. Toasted sesame seeds are great, as are chopped scallions. For something easy, throw on some peas—right out of the freezer, or roasted red peppers right out of the jar. One thing that’s important to know is that pasta soaks up the peanut / sesame sauce very quickly, so it’s essential not to put the sauce on the noodles until you’re ready to serve them.

Spring Rolls

Asian groceries sell spring roll wrappers, made from rice and tapioca flours, in various sizes. To use, soak them one at a time in warm water for about 5 seconds to get them soft, then fill them and fold them up. It’s a pretty simple process once you get used to it, and they are delicious using the peanut / sesame sauce for dipping. For a filling, use any combination of the following, tossed with a little lemon juice, • Rice vermicelli • Shredded carrots • Chopped cucumber • Chopped mint • Chopped cilantro • Bean sprouts and before you wrap them up add a protein source like pressed or baked tofu cut into small cubes. For an Indonesian flair I’ll use tempeh. Cut it into cubes, sauté in olive or peanut oil to a golden brown, and let cool. Again, there are no rules here, so feel free to experiment, and pack your spring rolls with whatever fresh ingredients you have available. If you don’t have any spring roll wrappers on hand, or if you’re just lazy like me, no worries. The spring roll filling above, with peanut / sesame sauce as dressing, makes a really refreshing summer salad. Spinach Thingamabobs Want something very easy and healthy that you can make in advance and wow your guests with on the patio this summer? Spinach thingamabobs are for you! Here’s how you make them. Steam or microwave spinach until just done. Let cool, and squeeze all the liquid out of it. (Save the liquid for soup if you like.) Then tear off chunks of the spinach and squeeze them even more tightly into little “thingamabobs” about the size and shape of your thumb. Arrange on a platter, chill thoroughly, and serve with the peanut / sesame dipping sauce. These are delicious, and everyone will want to know what’s in them. Give them the recipe for the dipping sauce, but tell them the ingredients in the thingamabobs themselves are a closely-guarded secret. (Heck, you don’t come across many recipes with only one ingredient!)

There is one drawback you should know in advance if you’re going to make thingamabobs—you can go through a lot of spinach. If you’ve got a hungry crowd, folks can eat up to half-a-pound of it. That’s half-a-pound each, so plan accordingly! Another sesame treat that’s great for summer is “Goddess” dressing made with a tahini base. You can make your own, but the commercial brands (Annie’s is the most popular) are outstanding, and a lot less trouble. This stuff is wonderful as a dipping sauce for artichokes!