Appetizer
65 recipes found
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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.
Tomato and Cucumber Salad
This adaptation of a Madhur Jaffrey recipe is lovely in its simplicity. Yellow or gold cherry tomatoes are especially summery here, but any color of tomato will work — as will large ones, sliced or wedged if you wish. But try, if you can, to find the curry leaves at an Indian grocery. They add a subtle fragrance.
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.
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.