Summer is just around the corner and with it the desire for fresh, light dishes. Many of us, in fact, prefer to eat light meals during this season, both to prepare for the dreaded “swimsuit season” and to indulge the body’s natural need to regulate its internal temperature in response to the summer heat. Consuming fresh, raw foods, such as vegetables and fruit, thus becomes a natural choice and has more grounded reasons than a simple aesthetic need.
Why choose pinsa for a light meal
The lightness of pinsa makes it an ideal dish for hot summer evenings, more so than a pizza or focaccia. The calorie intake is lower, as is the amount of carbs, which are responsible for making you feel full. If properly seasoned, pinsa can be the perfect mix of taste and lightness that everyone looks for in summer, no matter where they decide to spend it.
Moreover, pinsa is also a very versatile food: it can be the star of a dinner with friends as well as a snack for a relaxing moment. It’s all about seasoning it properly.
Pinsa, summer recipes that don’t sacrifice taste
A common mistake is to think that a light dish must necessarily sacrifice flavour. This is absolutely not true; on the contrary, it is certainly possible to create a well-balanced and very tasty dish using only easily digestible and low-calorie foods.
In the pages of this very blog we have already presented dozens of light and perfect recipes for a summer pinsa: there is no need for repetition. Rather, we thought we would do something different, i.e. select light ingredients and divide them into two categories: the delicate ones and the more intense ones, so that you can experiment and find the perfect combination for your creations. When trying out different combinations, we only have one recommendation: although the ingredients can be more or less intense, ideally it should be possible to taste all flavours and they should therefore be balanced in terms of quantity.
Experiment and then let us know on social media: we will find out together which is the most popular summer pinsa recipe to offer to your friends during relaxing moments.
More delicate or more intense taste?
For our summer pinsa, we divide the ingredients into two categories: delicate and intense. Among the first, there is plenty of room for vegetables, but also some proteins:
- Zucchini
- Salad
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Grilled chicken
- Greek feta cheese
- Tomato sauce
- Celery
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Asparagus
- Yellow bell peppers
Choosing two or three ingredients is ideal for a balanced summer pinsa. Going further is certainly possible but a bit risky: the balance becomes much more complex and some ingredients risk disappearing. Our advice is not to exceed 3 in total, to which you can perhaps cautiously add a spice little by little.
The real challenge is to integrate other foods, still light but with a stronger flavour, including spices. Here are a few suggestions:
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Mint
- Turmeric
- Chilli pepper
- Lemon
- Basil
- Red onion
- Capers
- Prosciutto crudo
- Black olives
These foods are all rich in intense and very distinctive flavours, that can enrich a dish without too many calories. In addition, some of them also have health-promoting, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Used correctly in a healthy, balanced diet, these ingredients can help you keep fit without sacrificing taste.
The season of creativity
The great thing about foods like pinsa is that they allow you to experiment and easily be creative. You don’t have to be a chef or know cooking techniques to create a dish that is perfect for your palate. So our encouragement for the summer is: be creative, experiment, have fun and be
