PARIS, Oct 4 — Power cuts, rationing or sky-high energy prices? Who knows what this winter will hold. Cooking without power may sound apocalyptic, but there are plenty of ways to get creative in the kitchen, all while keeping electricity use to a minimum. Here are some ideas.

Eat raw

As an energy crisis looms, foodies might have to make sacrifices in the kitchen this winter. Instead of powering up the oven, hotplate and grill, eating raw food is always an option, even if it might not be quite as warming as serving up piping hot dishes.

But the current context could seriously boost the raw food diet trend, which extols the virtues of a no-cook diet to preserve a maximum of nutrients.

In addition to grated carrots and other salads, you can also craft more elaborate recipes, such as steak tartare or sea bream ceviche, a kind of carpaccio of Peruvian origin that’s seasoned with onions, citrus fruits and chili peppers.

And this seafood that can be adapted to work with a wide variety of fish.

No-cook cakes

For dessert, how about a cake that doesn’t need to go in the oven? This is a challenge that can readily be met when you look to recipes based on creams, soft cheeses and cookie crumbs.

The art of the no-bake cake lies in the dense texture of a whipped cream and/or a creamy substance such as mascarpone or Philadelphia that can then be flavoured (with lemon or red berries, for example).

As a base for the cake, crush cookies in the bottom of a pastry ring (not a pie pan, as it could be tricky to unmould).

And here, you can choose whatever’s in the pantry: shortbread cookies, Oreos, Biscoff... Then, spread it with the cream preparation and finish with jam or jelly if needed.

Refrigerate the cake overnight to set the whole thing in place, and then unmould it the next day.

And if the unmoulding process stresses you out, simply build the cakes directly in individual portions in large glasses.

If you have access to a microwave, then you can follow the lead of chefs like Cyril Lignac or Thierry Marx, by trying a simple chocolate cake recipe. The idea is to melt squares of chocolate and add butter.

You can also add some whipped cream. Then, pour the mixture into a cake tin lined with cling film and keep it in the fridge overnight before unmoulding.

Verrines

A decade ago, verrines — or hors d’oeuvres in a shot glass — were all the rage, whether at home parties or catered events. Now, faced with the possibility of power shortages this winter — and the wider interest of making savings — these cold concoctions could come back in a big way.

Verrines have many advantages. For starters, everyone can make them, no matter what their level of kitchen expertise. They can also be adapted to all tastes and dietary requirements, and filled with a whole host of ingredients that do not need to be cooked or heated.

Raw vegetables, or crushed or puréed preparations, can be combined with cream cheese seasoned with chives, all used to compose successive layers of ingredients so that the eater’s spoon dives through the various textures.

You can also prepare verrines based on winter salads, using beets, orange, chicory, red cabbage and carrots, for example. — ETX Studio