Appetizer
47 recipes found
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This French Vegetable Soup Is Summer’s Coziest Goodbye
Pistou, a French pesto-like sauce, turns a simple summer soup into something special.
Tomato and Burrata Salad With Chile Crisp
Tomato and burrata couple up nicely for a light summer meal, and they get an instant makeover with the addition of chile crisp. A powerful weeknight tool, the condiment is made with a heady mix of spices suspended in a fiery red oil, brimming with complexity and umami. In this recipe, the chile crisp both seasons and dresses the salad. Every brand of chile crisp will vary in spice, heat and saltiness, so vary the amount accordingly. The spicy oil is tamed by the milky, buttery burrata, though you could also substitute with fresh mozzarella or ricotta. Be generous with the cilantro, as it brings a bright, floral note to the tomatoes. This makes an excellent main-meal salad served with bread, or can be enjoyed with noodles or pasta.
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The Quick, Creamy Dip I Make for All My Parties
This creamy labneh dip, swirled with herb oil and finished with honey, chili crisp, and scallions, is tangy, vibrant, and ready in minutes.
Chicken Soup With Corn and Spinners
This recipe is a more streamlined take on a Jamaican Saturday soup, a simmered-until-tender marriage of beef or chicken and starchy vegetables. Thanks to a few strategic moves, this recipe takes only one hour but tastes like the result of an hours-long endeavor. Simmering bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in chicken stock fortifies the soup, coaxing out gelatin from the bones and releasing fat from the skin to create a rich foundation. Instead of cutting corn kernels off the cob, the corn cobs are cut into pieces, which are less fussy to prepare, and more fun to eat — with hands, as nature intended! Handmade dumplings called spinners thicken the soup further and add a chewy bite.
Kenai Dip (Smoky Jalapeño Cheese Dip)
Slathered on burgers and sold by the tub in grocery store delis across Alaska, this cold, smoky jalapeño-cheese dip is most authentically consumed within earshot of a 4-stroke outboard motor while fishing for salmon on the Kenai (keen-EYE) River. The original dip, also known simply as jalapeño cheese dip, has been sold by Echo Lake Meats, a butcher shop in the fishing town of Kenai south of Anchorage, since the 1970s. Its recipe remains a closely guarded secret, but copycat dips abound. This tasty, quick-to-make version for home cooks was adapted from the chef and recipe developer Maya Wilson’s recipe in “The Alaska From Scratch Cookbook” (Rodale, 2018). It’s important to use freshly grated cheese to get the correct texture.
Aguachile Shrimp Salad
Aguachile, the fiery dish from Mexico’s Pacific coast, means “chile water,” a reference to the bold sauce, which blends lime juice, dried chiles, fresh serranos, cilantro and cucumbers. Fresh raw shellfish, such as shrimp or scallops, are marinated and lightly cooked by the acid. Here, the aguachile sauce is swirled into sour cream with just a touch of mayo to turn it into a silky and electric dressing for quickly boiled shrimp, and thinly sliced tomatillos add a crisp, gooseberry-like freshness. Since the shrimp is cooked, the dish travels well, making it the perfect centerpiece for a picnic or a summer get-together. Feel free to use shell-on shrimp if you prefer and peel them after cooking.
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These Crispy Golden Corn Fritters Are a Southern Summer Favorite
Golden corn fritters made from fresh kernels are crisp on the outside, tender inside, and packed with the flavor of summer corn.
Cucumber-Tomato Salad With Sesame Whipped Tofu
Silken tofu can be an incredible creamy base for sauces, dips and even soups. It’s packed with protein and is a great way to enhance a simple light salad. The neutral flavor of silken tofu makes it a flexible blank canvas to highlight strong flavors like toasted sesame oil. Here, whipped tofu is a pedestal for simple peak summer tomatoes and cucumbers that are roughly chopped and salted. The simplicity of this salad means that everything needs to be well seasoned. Serve the salad with some crusty sourdough bread, creating a DIY tomato toast situation.
Grilled Shrimp Ceviche With Corn and Coconut
Though technically not a ceviche, as the shrimp are grilled first, this dish is deeply inspired by the ceviche variations that span across Latin America, the Caribbean and the South Pacific Islands. Marinated in rich limey coconut milk, this lively, refreshing dish feels quintessentially summery — perfect for outdoor dining — while grilled corn and shrimp add depth and a subtle smokiness. Serve as a salad or with tortillas, plantain chips or saltines. It’s best to not overcook the shrimp on the grill and let it continue to “cook” in the marinade.
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This Tomato Tart Looks Fancy but Couldn't Be Easier
This savory spin on a French classic layers jammy tomatoes, caramelized onions, and golden pastry.
Sweet and Spicy Melon Salad
This salad is all about contrast: sweet, juicy melon (honeydew or anything similar), a sharp lime dressing with garlic and shallots, and a good hit of spice from serrano and red pepper. It’s finished with roasted peanuts for crunch and lots of fresh basil to keep it bright and herbaceous. The flavors are bold, tangy and just spicy enough to keep you coming back for another bite. It’s great as a side, but also can be lunch and pairs well with a hot day, crispy tofu, noodles and pork, grilled meats or any light sandwich or lettuce wrap.
Slow Cooker Senate Bean Soup
This ultrasimple bean soup has been on the menu at the U.S. Senate Dining Room and served to senators and their staff for more than 100 years. Even as politics have changed, this soup has remained basically the same: navy beans simmered to creamy tenderness with ham hocks, butter and onion. Fittingly, there is no consensus on where exactly the soup came from: Some say it dates back to the early 20th century, when Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho passed a resolution making it a menu staple. This slow-cooker version has updated the classic slightly, with the addition of carrots and smoked paprika. If you’d like more vegetables (how modern!), stir in about 8 ounces of chopped kale before serving. As a nod to Idaho, this version contains a single russet potato, which gets mashed at the end of cooking and thickens the soup beautifully.
Tajín Mango Cucumber Salad
Vibrant, refreshing, juicy and crisp, this salad is perfect for warmer days or any day when you need just a little pick-me-up. Coming together quickly, the combination of mango, cucumber and romaine is simply dressed with fresh lime and cilantro. Tajín, a popular Mexican seasoning made with chiles, lime and salt, adds a tangy and mildly spicy flavor, contrasting nicely with the sweetness of mango.
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These Crispy Tomato Fritters Taste Like Summer on a Greek Island
These juicy, golden tomato fritters from the Greek islands are packed with herbs, briny feta, and peak-summer flavor.
Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Lentil Soup
A summer soup is not an oxymoron. Take this lively lentil soup, rich and aromatic from both fresh and cooked tomatoes, and basil. Adding fresh tomatoes and basil at both the beginning and end of cooking ensures you get both their mellow, sweet side as well as their fresh, zingy side. The tomato paste and cream lend their sturdy flavors in a way that’s reminiscent of vodka sauce, while the lentils almost melt away into the background. The slow cooker is actually a great warm-weather tool, because it doesn’t heat up your kitchen the way the oven does, and it uses very little energy. This soup holds very well on warm before you add the finishing ingredients, making the timing flexible and weeknight-friendly.
Broiler-Popped Oysters With Tomato Butter
These oysters taste like pizza, all thanks to a simple tomato butter loaded with garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. In this recipe, adapted from my cookbook "Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook" (Knopf, 2023), you still go through the motions of shucking, but start by broiling the oysters, which makes them give up their tight grip and open right up. Then all you need is a butter knife to release them from their shells, so think of this as oyster shucking with training wheels on. Each opened oyster is crowned with the tomato butter before another quick trip under the broiler to get bubbly and browned. Serve with crusty bread to sop up all the briny, garlicky sauce.
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This Cool, Crunchy, Spicy Side Is the Best Way to Eat Cucumbers
A crisp cucumber kimchi, no fermentation required.
Nurungji (Scorched Rice)
People forget that rice isn’t just a blank canvas; it has a unique flavor all its own, whether it’s jasmine, basmati or sushi rice, or any other kind you and your family love. Scorching it helps you taste its nuance. Also known as socarrat in Spanish cuisine (when it crisps on the bottom of a paella pan) or tahdig (in Persian households), among many other names, scorched rice is a natural byproduct of cooking rice in a pot over fire. This simple recipe extends the life of leftover rice to achieve that crisp, tender rice, a lovely treat that doesn’t require the time it takes to tenderize uncooked grains.
Tomato Salad With Dates
A simple yet striking dish, this tomato salad manages to make peak-season tomatoes taste even more special. It’s all about bold contrasts: Sweet dates and caramelized cherry tomatoes meet the deep umami of fish sauce in a very quick skillet sauce, mingling to form a fragrant dressing that soaks into layers of thickly sliced fresh tomatoes, while fresh lime and basil bring balance and fragrance. The key is patience, as you’ve got to let the sauce cool before dressing the sliced tomatoes so their fresh texture isn’t disturbed, then wait a moment before eating so the flavors meld without losing their vibrancy.
Whipped Ricotta
Homemade whipped ricotta can serve as both a dip and a spread. It’s also a cinch to make, transforming the grainy, dense cheese into something light and airy. Delicious on sandwiches or with crackers or raw vegetables, it’s especially welcome as part of a charcuterie board.
Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad With Corn Chips
This superquick corn and black bean salad is enlivened with crackly corn chips, in the spirit of salads like fattoush, panzanella and crispy noodle salad. When corn is at its peak, its subtly sweet raw kernels are plump and juicy, and the perfect addition to salads. Corn pairs beautifully with earthy black beans and this sprightly cumin-lime vinaigrette. The corn, black beans, cilantro and vinaigrette can mingle up to 4 hours ahead, so this make-ahead dish is perfect for a picnic, potluck, cookout, or simply dinner. For best results, toss in the corn chips and avocado just before serving.
Tomato and Bulgur Salad With Herbs
This earthy but bright salad comes together very quickly in just one bowl, and makes a wonderful side to a barbecue spread or as a light lunch with some soft cheese or a spoonful of hummus. Be sure to use the best tomatoes you can find; any assortment of your favorites will do. The pomegranate molasses is well worth sourcing for this dish, but if you can’t find it, you can simply up the amount of vinegar and maple syrup for a similar tart and sweet flavor.
Heirloom Tomato Salad With Ricotta and Chile Oil
Come tomato season, there is no wrong way to make a tomato salad, but this one from my book “Big Vegan Flavor” (Avery Books, 2024) is exceptional. Dollops of creamy ricotta gently swaddle meaty wedges of heirloom tomatoes, while shallots and garlic add a piquant bite. Everything gets drizzled with a mild chile oil and finished with the tomato’s best friends: fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and flaky sea salt. It’s so simple (and fantastic), there’s no excuse to not make it once tomatoes roll into season. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that this salad served with grilled bread is one of life’s finest summer pleasures. Bonus: The human body can better absorb the lycopene in tomatoes when it’s paired with a healthy fat, such as olive oil. So enjoy the heck out of that chile oil. (Watch Nisha make this recipe on YouTube.)
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A Bold, Smoky Vietnamese Favorite I Grill All Summer Long
With a juicy pork filling and a smoky char from the grill, these Vietnamese-style stuffed squid with a zesty lime dipping sauce are full of bold flavors.