Australia is set to bake over the course of the week, with temperatures in the 40s in parts of Victoria and South Australia.

The heat makes everything uncomfortable – especially cooking. 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.

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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. Sodha prefers cooked, jarred chickpeas as they’re creamier but if you can’t find them, you could try tinned chickpeas – just know they won’t be as soft.

Mandy Yin’s spicy glass noodle and prawn salad. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Georgia Rudd.

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.

Rukmini Iyer’s watermelon and tomato gazpacho with rosemary croutons. Photograph: Issy Croker/Issy Croker/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Emily Ezekiel. Food styling assistant: Sophie Crowther.

Sweet watermelon is at the heart of this easy recipe; all it requires is blitzing and sieving, plus an hour chilling in the fridge. This recipe asks you to make croutons yourself, but choose the path of least resistance and use something store-bought. Look for croutons that are rosemary-flavoured, or throw in whatever crunchy cracker you have on hand. If you’re feeling extra, Iyer recommends adding fresh cherry tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers and extra ice cubes upon serving.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s silken tofu crunchy salad and marmalade dressing. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Valerie Berry. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food assistant: Fernanda Milanezi.

An interesting dressing and crunchy toppings can jazz up what would otherwise be raw vegetables and protein. Here it’s a drizzle of bitter marmalade and lime, with salted peanuts and sesame seeds. Where the recipe asks for mangetout, look for snow peas; if you’re feeling up to it, you can leave the tofu to marinate in the dressing overnight, for maximum flavour.

Justin Tsang’s salmon noodle salad. Photograph: Matthew Hague/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Florence Blair. Food styling assistant: Emma Cantlay.

In Australia, glass noodles are more commonly sold as bean thread, green bean or mung bean vermicelli. Whatever the name, they’re perfect for hot days – just pour boiling water over them – and they easily soak up flavours. The zesty lime-soy dressing is light but flavourful, while store-bought hot-smoked fish is also an easy way to get protein in without adding extra heat to your house.

Alice Zaslavsky’s honeydew melon carpaccio. Photograph: Rochelle Eagle/Murdoch books

Where’s the beef? Alice Zaslavsky’s carpaccio recipe cleverly uses one perfectly ripe honeydew, finely sliced into half moons – so make sure you use a sharp knife. The melon’s sweetness works well with crisp cucumber, lime and pops of green chilli. And as for the coriander pesto, if you’re one of those people who associates coriander with soap, Zaslavsky says you can substitute it with basil.

Meera Sodha’s Korean-style cold noodle salad. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Laura Lawrence.

Bibim-guksu is a staple during Korean summers where the spiciness of the gochujang-powered sauce contrasts pleasingly with the cold wheat noodles. Sodha’s version includes buckwheat soba, which you do need to boil, but this takes only a few minutes. There’s also radishes, sugar snap peas and red cabbage but you could add whatever summer veg you have, so long as it’s finely sliced or shredded. Smoked tofu is listed in the ingredients, but if you can’t find it, five spice hard tofu or gently fried tempeh might work as well.

Anna Jones’s assortment of toast toppings. Photograph: Matt Russell/The Guardian

If all else fails, toast is the ultimate low-effort meal. But it doesn’t have to be boring. Add honey, red-wine vinegar and grainy mustard to your smashed avo, or give a smashed pea and preserved lemon spread a go. Your humble hot bread is transformed into a chic small plate that takes under ten minutes to prepare.