Eight no-cook summer meals, from chickpea salads to fancy toast recipes

"Hot ovens heat up rooms, while standing over a stove does the opposite of keeping our bodies cool. But it's possible to make a meal without turning on either. (Pictured above) One of the most flavourful players in the pantry is here to help you through the heat. Rose harissa is a paste that, as you can guess, incorporates rosewater with harissa to create a softer, more floral spice. You can find it at Middle-Eastern grocers and specialty stores."

"A colourful meal makes eating much more appealing and this salad is a rainbow. There's green from the fresh basil, mint and coriander, red from the chillies and pink from the prawns. After blitzing the dressing into a tangy, fish-y paste using the best anchovies you can afford let it sit with the noodles and the rest of the salad for a minimum of 15 minutes."

A heatwave will bring temperatures in the 40s to parts of Victoria and South Australia. Hot ovens increase room temperature and standing over stoves raises body heat, so preparing no-cook meals avoids heating kitchens. Rose harissa blends rosewater with harissa to produce a softer, floral spice and is available at Middle-Eastern grocers and specialty stores. Cooked, jarred chickpeas yield a creamier texture, while tinned chickpeas work as a firmer substitute. A spicy glass noodle and prawn salad pairs basil, mint, coriander, chillies and prawns with a blitzed anchovy dressing that should sit with the noodles for at least 15 minutes. A watermelon and tomato gazpacho can be blitzed, sieved and chilled for an hour and served with rosemary-flavoured or other crunchy store-bought croutons or crackers.

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