Recipes By Mark Bittman
973 recipes found
Watermelon Granita
A few lazy stirs as this granita sets up in the freezer is really the only tricky thing about this easy and refreshing dessert. It’s also a perfect midafternoon cooler for a vacation house full of children.
Watermelon Popsicles
You don’t need an expert to tell you that watermelon is just about the most refreshing thing you could possibly eat in the middle of summer. Luckily, there are many worthy and refreshing things to do with watermelon that are somewhere between simple slicing and full-blown cooking.
Watermelon Sorbet
There are no bad watermelons, but how can you improve your chances for a ripe, delicious one? The cheater’s answer is to buy them at a farm stand or a farmers’ market, where not only are they likely to be tastier but will also come with a seasoned pro to help. If you’re in the grocery store, you might have to get a little rough: put your ear close and slap the side of the watermelon. If it makes a hollow sound, you’re in business.
Watermelon Cocktail With Gin and Basil
Watermelon Daiquiri
Farro and Watermelon Salad
If the farro is already cooked, this recipe takes all of 5 minutes to put together. Other grains, like quinoa or even rice, can be substituted.
Watermelon Lemonade
A surefire way to make lemonade even more refreshing is to pour it over watermelon ice cubes. This recipe takes some time — the watermelon cubes have to freeze — but almost no effort. If necessary, seed the watermelon before you cut it into chunks and put it in the blender. Cut it lengthwise into quarters, slice off the “heart” of each quarter to expose the row of seeds and remove them with the tines of a fork.
Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho
Scallops and Mango Skewers
Sweet and meaty, fresh scallops are the most user-friendly of mollusks and make for easy summer suppers. Skewer them with bell peppers, red onion and mango, and they can go from grill to table in about 15 minutes flat. The trick to grilling scallops is simple: Err on the side of undercooking since an undercooked scallop is far more enjoyable than an overcooked one. Take the scallops off the grill before they’re opaque all the way through.
Grilled Scallops With Peaches, Corn and Tomatoes
The easiest hot-weather supper, this salad benefits from peak-summer ingredients, which need very little prep. You can throw the corn cobs and halved peaches directly on the grill, but if your scallops are small enough to fall through the grates, you should skewer them onto metal skewers or wooden skewers that have been soaked in water. The only thing worse than losing a sweet, meaty scallop into the fire would be overcooking it, so be sure to remove the scallops from the grill before they’re fully opaque.
Miso-Glazed Grilled Scallops
This simple and sophisticated treatment is perfect for grilled scallops, but also works well on chicken or pork. One note on preparation: Err on the side of undercooking. Take the scallops off the grill before they’re opaque all the way through. If you undercook a scallop, it will still be delicious, but if you overcook it, it will get rubbery.
Scallop Salsa Cruda
Fresh scallops are served with a fresh tomato salad in this no-effort summer dish. Because they’re being served raw, it’s important to purchase high-quality scallops. Many store-bought options are soaked in a phosphate solution that plumps them up with water (therefore bumping up the price), so it’s worth seeking out scallops that are labeled “dry” or “dry-packed" for more pure flavor.
Raw Scallops on Bacon
Salty and sweet, crisp and tender, bacon and scallops pair well together in this impossibly easy dish. Any time you cook with a limited ingredient list, you want to select good-quality items, especially when working with raw seafood. Many store-bought scallops are soaked in a phosphate solution that plumps them up with water (and increases the price), so it’s important to look for scallops that are labeled “dry” or “dry-packed,” since a phosphate-marinated scallop can taste soapy. Since the scallops are served over bacon, season them frugally with just a hint of salt.
Scallop Panzanella
Creamy, sweet, briny and meaty at the same time, scallops are the most user-friendly of mollusks and require minimal preparation. Here, they are grilled with tomatoes and crusty bread, then tossed with a classic dressing of lemon juice and olive oil in a fresh take on classic panzanella.
Ceviche-Style Scallops
When preparing a simple scallop dish, buying high-quality scallops is half the battle. Because scallops are often soaked in a phosphate solution that plumps them with water to bump up cost, it’s important to look for scallops that are labeled “dry” or “dry-packed.” (A phosphate-marinated scallop may taste like soap.) Good scallops need little more than a squeeze of lime, but sliced chile pepper and a handful of cilantro bring brightness to this easy summer dish.
Grilled Scallops With Kale and Olives
Cook scallops on the grill, and they’ll stand up to stronger flavors like kale and olives in this hearty grilled salad. You’ll want to firmly massage your kale with its lemon dressing to tenderize it, so it doesn’t overpower the delicate grilled scallops. If desired, you could even grill the kale, then toss with the olives and onions just before serving.
Scallop Tartare
Sweet and tender scallops make a natural substitute for raw beef in tartare. While beef stands up to strong, aggressive capers and mustard, the ratios are dialed back here to accommodate the scallop, which is more subtle. Because they’re being served raw, it’s important to buy fresh, high-quality scallops. Many store-bought options are soaked in a phosphate solution that plumps them up with water (therefore bumping up the price), so it’s important to look for scallops that are labeled “dry” or “dry-packed” for more pure flavor.
Green Beans with Crispy Shallots
This recipe creates a tasty side dish. Green beans with crispy shallots is a savory and wonderful addition to any meal. Just be sure you use fresh beans.
Seaweed Salad With Scallops
Sweet and briny scallops need little more than a splash of oil and a pinch of seasoning to be delicious. Because they’re often enjoyed raw, it’s important to purchase fresh, high-quality bivalves. Many store-bought scallops are soaked in a phosphate solution that plumps them up with water (therefore bumping up the price), so it’s important to look for scallops that are labeled “dry” or “dry-packed.” A waterlogged scallop doesn’t sear well, and a phosphate-marinated scallop may taste like soap, especially when consumed raw as they are here. In this 10-minute recipe, the scallop takes center-stage while seaweed and cucumber provide texture, and soy sauce and sesame oil add depth.
Socca
This is essentially a large chickpea pancake from Provence (and neighboring Liguria, where it’s called farinata). It’s traditionally cooked in wood ovens on copper disks, roughly cut and served hot or warm. (In the main market in Nice, it’s baked a few hundred yards away and delivered by bicycle, to be wrapped in paper and eaten on the street.) If you have no wood or copper, that’s no problem. They’re nearly as great in a skillet or in a pizza pan in your oven, and totally foolproof.
Paella Master Recipe
The technique for paella is pretty straightforward: Unlike with risotto, paella is hardly stirred or not at all. And equally unlike with risotto (but very much as with Persian tahdig), you want a brown bottom, which is called socarrat, the sign of a good paella. This can be a matter of chance. But the likelihood increases if you keep the heat relatively high, turning it down only when you smell a little scorching. (That won’t ruin the dish as long as you catch it in time.) Perhaps the best thing about this recipe is that it is delightfully adaptable: Add whatever meat, seafood, vegetable or seasoning that sounds good to you.
Fennel Compote With Tomatoes, Olives and Fish (or Not)
Lamb Curry With Basmati Rice
This wonderfully spiced dish is halfway completed before you start cooking. I’ve slowly begun to realize that my most successful lamb dishes were made from what was left over from a meal of lamb shanks. When braising season began, I cooked two sizable lamb shanks and, of course, enjoyed them. But I really got into it over the following couple of nights, when I wound up using them to create marvelous meals.
