Appetizer
47 recipes found
Tomato-Pepper Salad With Tapenade
This is perfect Provençal summer fare, with all the sweet flavors of the season. The tapenade, a pungent combination of olives, garlic, capers and anchovy, can be prepared by hand or in a food processor and can serve as a base to a bright salad of tomatoes and peppers. And it’s an ideal condiment for keep on hand, to pair with bright salads or serve over warm garlic toast.
Tomato, Olive and Feta Salad with Tinned Fish
Simple, no-cook dishes are ideal for hot summer days when you want something filling but not too heavy. Inspired by both a Greek salad and one typical throughout Spain, with tomatoes, tuna and onions, this salad hits all the marks: Tangy and creamy from a touch of feta, acidic and refreshing from the tomatoes, with a bite from the onions and added brine from the olives. The tinned fish you use, be it tuna, salmon, trout or sardines, can be swapped, depending on your pantry and preferences. Play with the olives, too: Ones soaking in a spicy brine add a kick, while lemon-garlic ones add brightness. Serve with bread or potato chips.
Coconut-Lime Wedge Salad
This recipe provides the essential texture found in a classic wedge salad, but updates the flavors for summer, with a coconut vinaigrette and crunchy, sweet-savory coconut crumbles. Sweetened with agave or maple syrup and baked until crisped, the coconut flakes serve as a plant-based alternative to the usual bacon found in the wedge. The crumble can be prepared in advance, and can even be eaten as a snack on its own or put on top of a scoop of cottage cheese. The coconut-lime dressing is a little nutty and tangy, and makes this cooling salad very refreshing on hotter days and beyond.
Bánh Mì Salad
Beloved by many for good reason, the flavors and textures of a bánh mì are the inspiration for this recipe. Crisp quick-marinated vegetables, tender herbs and lettuces, spicy jalapeño, creamy avocado and sweet ham are dressed in a version of tangy nước chấm and then topped with buttery crackers instead of the bread that gives the Vietnamese sandwich its name. While the ingredient list might seem long, there’s no cooking involved and this salad comes together in about 20 minutes. Any type of ham will work, but if you buy a roast, you’ll be able to carve the ham as thin as you'd like. For a different take, cooked bacon, rotisserie chicken or tofu make excellent options, too.
Brothy Tomato Rice Soup
This quick and nourishing soup captures the concentrated umami, acidic-sweet brightness and floral aroma of fresh tomatoes. If you can buy the ones on the vine, you’ll end up with an even more intense scent. Fragrant jasmine rice lends body and thickens the broth just enough. The perfect lunch or light dinner, this comforting meal reheats beautifully, too, to a texture not dissimilar to congee or juk, and tastes like peak summer in soup form. A note on cooking with tomato vines: They lend a surprising tomatoey flavor to brothy curries and soups like this, accentuating the aroma of the fruit in a beautiful way, but they do contain plant defenses called glycoalkaloids, so don’t eat them.
Melon Salad With Nectarines, Tomatoes and Basil
The principle behind this summer salad is “take what is great from what is right around you and do very little to it,” Hannah Shizgal-Paris, the chef of Roman’s, in Brooklyn, says. The recipe showcases cantaloupe and nectarines, but any firm-fleshed melon and vivid stone fruit will do. Everything depends on the quality of the produce at hand and the stage it’s in: If the melon is crunchy, you cut it thin; if starting to soften, cut it thick. Contrast comes from capers, pecorino, chile (less for heat than punctuation), and a pucker of lemon to finish. Be sure to season each ingredient separately and build the salad in layers, rather than dumping everything in all at once. Taste as you go, and keep it all nice and cool. It’s a dish only for this sun-drunk time. Eat it while you can.
Sweet and Spicy Summer Fruit Salad
Some of summer’s most notable offerings are stone fruit, tomatoes and basil. While they thrive in the sun, they gain even more flavor when dressed in a savory-spicy vinaigrette. In this spoonable salad, the components resemble a fragmented mosaic: Sweet stone fruit of any kind, from cherries to peaches to pluots, is cut small and tossed with juicy cherry tomatoes and aromatic basil in a chile crisp vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is simple to make, only requiring a bit of sugar to build on the fruit's natural quality, along with red wine vinegar to add fruity depth. Pair this salad with grilled or roasted meats, or just enjoy it on its own.
Chicken Tenders
These chicken tenders pack a punch, thanks to a generous helping of a savory homemade spice blend, revved up with Cajun seasoning. A spoonful of mustard in the marinade helps the spices adhere, serves as a tenderizer, and lends a slight tanginess. Adding a bit of that marinade to the flour mixture helps create a crust that fries up shaggy and crackly. For a crispy exterior and juicy interior with less oil, this recipe calls for pan-frying rather than deep frying. Pair these tenders with your favorite dipping sauces, and they’re sure to be a hit.
Zucchini Salad With Sizzled Pistachios
In this clever salad, fresh raw zucchini is bathed in a nutty oil accented with big bursts of jewel-like lemon; each bite is equal parts rich and bright. Warming the oil with the pistachios until they sizzle infuses it with their flavor. Whole lemons, peeled down to the flesh and then sliced, are then stirred into the pistachio oil. A little black pepper, spicy red pepper flakes and feta cheese (which is optional) turn this into a salad equally ready to grace a summer spread or pack ahead for lunch. It can also be a great side for hot-mustard grilled chicken, roasted salmon, sheet-pan feta or even just a bowl of hummus and some thick-cut toast.
Tangy Tzatziki
Inspired by the tzatziki served at Sto Kastro, a Greek restaurant in Germersheim, Germany, this thicker, fluffier iteration of the sauce lets the pairing of cucumber and yogurt shine. The main technique here is to really squeeze the liquid out of both the cucumbers and the yogurt, which results in tzatziki that’s both creamy and almost fluffy. A second trick, from the cookbook author Suzy Karadsheh, is to use distilled white vinegar instead of lemon juice. The vinegar’s straightforward acidity delivers the best of the cucumber and yogurt. This cool, creamy mix tastes fantastic when spread on warm pita bread and crackers or used as a dip for chips and fresh crunchy vegetables.
Corn Soup
This simple corn soup tastes like sweet, buttery popcorn, though its richness comes more from the corn than the half-and-half. Blended silky smooth and studded with whole kernels for texture, this soup is an excellent canvas for almost anything. Serve as recommended with a sprinkle of minced chives, or round out the sweetness by adding minced tarragon instead. A dollop of sour cream or Mexican crema, a sprinkle of cayenne and a squeeze of lime will drum up the flavor of Mexican street corn. Bulk it up by serving whatever roasted protein or vegetables you're craving in a pool of it.
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The Crispy, Cheesy Zucchini Fritters I Make Every Summer
Have more zucchini than you know what to do with? Start with these fritters, which are packed with fresh dill and salty, tangy feta.
Roasted Pepper, White Bean and Mozzarella Salad
Sweet, fruity jarred roasted peppers power this hearty cannellini bean salad that comes together with almost no preparation. Like many jarred vegetables, store-bought roasted peppers are a timesaver without any sacrifice in flavor; opt for fire-roasted ones, if available, for smokier notes. Here, the succulent texture and vibrant hue of roasted peppers pair beautifully with tender cannellini beans and creamy mozzarella. You can put down that knife: As there’s no chopping required, you’ll create a range of textures by simply tearing the peppers, mozzarella and herbs. If you’ve got a glut of fresh summer bell peppers available, you can take advantage of them at their prime by roasting them for this salad, using any color or variety; check the Tip for instructions.
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When I’m Drowning in Zucchini, I Make These
These crisp, savory pancakes are the perfect way to use up your zucchini haul.
Shrimp Aguachile
Aguachile, the bright and punchy seafood dish from coastal Sinaloa, Mexico, gets its name (which translates to “chile water”) from the vibrant blend of chiles, lime juice and salt that transform the sweet flesh of raw shrimp into tender, tart flavor bombs. Unlike ceviche, where seafood marinates in citrus until it's fully “cooked,” aguachile hits the table soon after the shrimp meets the zesty chile water. While the aguachile is on your plate, the lime juice continues its work on the sweet, delicate shrimp, so each bite offers a slightly different texture without ever turning rubbery. Use as many serranos as your heart desires and your palate can handle.
Pesto alla Trapanese (Pasta With Tomatoes, Almonds and Mint)
There’s an inspiring casualness to the best Italian cooking: Combine a handful of high-quality, local ingredients, season them simply and let them be. A great example is pesto Trapanese, a simple sauce that digs deeply into the Sicilian soil it comes from. Rich almonds and fruity olive oil mingle with fragrant herbs while tangy tomatoes make it brighter and sweeter than green pesto, its more famous cousin from Genoa. This mint version, adapted from “Made in Sicily” (Ecco, 2012) by Giorgio Locatelli, the London-based chef and restaurateur, swaps out the traditional mortar and pestle for a food processor but keeps the earthy soul of the dish intact. Besides tossing this pesto with pasta, try spooning some over fish, shrimp or roasted potatoes.
Sheet-Pan Socca (Savory Chickpea Pancake)
Crispy on the outside and creamy at their core, socca are thin, olive-oil-rich chickpea pancakes. In Provence they’re often made on wide, flat copper skillets, but a screamingly hot sheet pan works extremely well, too — and makes an extra-large chickpea cake that can serve as a light dinner or an easy appetizer. Socca are usually not topped with anything more than black pepper; they are delicate and can’t support more than minimalist additions. However, a light scattering of toppings — like anchovies, pecorino and scallions here — makes socca qualify as a simple and delicious meal. A handful of chopped olives added before baking would also work, as would a garnish of torn slivers of prosciutto, draped on top just before serving.
Shrimp Salad
This Southern shrimp salad is so easy to throw together. It uses fresh or frozen shrimp, quickly and gently cooked in a pot of just-boiled water that’s well seasoned and spiked with lemon. Once cooled, the shrimp is then tossed in a savory, tangy, creamy dressing with a crunch from crisp vegetables for a perfect balance of texture. It’s an ideal light lunch, and also keeps in the fridge for a few days, ready to serve as a snack with crackers when you need something in a hurry.
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Deviled Egg Dip
Deviled eggs reimagined into a creamy, rich egg dip.
French-Fried Squid
Grated Carrot Salad With Dates and Oranges
The influences here are Moroccan. The orange juice brings out the sweetness of the carrots. The juices combine in a delectable way, the salad sweetened all the more by the dates and cinnamon.
Israeli Couscous and Spicy Herb Frittata
In Italy leftover pasta is often recycled into a frittata. I decided to do the same with some Israeli couscous that I had tossed with a spicy Yemeni herb and chili paste called zhoug that I found in Yotam Ottolenghi’s book “Jerusalem.” I liked the couscous with the chili paste better in this pretty frittata than I did on its own. You won’t use up all of the zhoug in the frittata but you will be glad to have the relish on hand to use as a condiment. Note that I do not cook my Israeli couscous in boiling water; I find that it becomes too mushy that way.
