Appetizer
3523 recipes found
Fresh Spring Rolls
Vietnamese-style spring rolls (also known as gỏi cuốn, rice paper rolls, salad rolls and summer rolls) are refreshing, light and the ideal vehicle for crunchy vegetables, fragrant herbs and simple proteins. Made by moistening, filling and rolling rice paper wrappers, they do take some time and finesse, but they’re also quite adaptable. Switch out the shrimp for tofu, chicken, pork, fish or mushrooms, and use any soft, thin, bite-sized vegetables, such as bean sprouts, jicama and avocado, but keep the herbs for their freshness. These fresh spring rolls are best eaten right away as a meal or cut in half for an appetizer. Serve with a creamy peanut sauce or spicy nước chấm for dipping.
Crispy Potato and Sour Cream Tart
This elegant tart riffs on the classic party combo of sour cream, caviar and potatoes. Here, sliced cooked potatoes are tossed with sour cream, Parmesan and chives, then spread onto a puff pastry crust. After baking, the top of the tart is strewn with crumbled potato chips for crunch and an optional layer of some kind of caviar for a salty pop (tobiko, salmon or trout roe work nicely). Cut into small pieces to serve as an hors d’oeuvre or larger pieces for the centerpiece of a festive brunch.
Pastelitos
When my mother, Rosa Fernandez, immigrated from the Dominican Republic to New York to be with my father, she brought her grandmother’s recipe for pastelitos along with her. Most Latin American countries have their own versions of a savory pie; stuffed with spiced meat and deep-fried, pastelitos are the Dominican Republic’s take. Variations on the filling exist throughout the island, the most common of which is ground beef (but you can swap in any ground meat of your choice). Street vendors and restaurants in the Dominican Republic and New York sell these savory pies year-round, but many home cooks save them for special occasions. Though dough is traditionally made from scratch, this recipe uses store-bought dough disks instead, for convenience and ease. Usually, one disk is folded to create half-moon shapes, but in this recipe the disks are cut in half and folded to create small triangles, which makes them the perfect bite to serve to guests.
Wanja Jeon (Pan-Fried Meat and Tofu Patties)
These celebratory meat-and-tofu jeon — a variety of Korean pan-fried fritters, patties and savory pancakes — are peak party food. This brilliant recipe from Daniel Harthausen, the chef and owner of Young Mother, a pop-up restaurant in Richmond, Va., calls for a touch of baking soda in the meat mixture to give the patties a little lightness and lift. Unlike most traditional jeon recipes, these start on the stovetop and finish cooking in the oven, which means you can take your time assembling them in advance, then bake them off right before serving. Enjoy these meaty delights with Mr. Harthausen’s special dipping sauce (see Tip), a simple herb salad dressed with some of that sauce, as well as rice and kimchi.
Hallacas
During the Christmas season, Venezuelans typically gather with their families and team up to make one of the most labor-intensive dishes of the entire year: hallacas, which are similar to Mexican tamales or Puerto Rican pasteles. This multigenerational recipe from Isbelis Diaz and her son, Ivo Diaz, is served at Casa Ora, their fine-dining Venezuelan restaurant in Brooklyn. Ms. Diaz’s great-grandmother learned this recipe from her neighbor nearly a century ago; it has passed down to each matriarch of the family. It starts with a deep red oil made from annatto seeds that is used to flavor the pork filling and masa for the hallacas. Before opening Casa Ora, Ms. Diaz would bring the hallacas — which are double-wrapped in banana leaves and tied with cotton twine — to businesses and events all throughout New York City, hoping to create a clientele. Today, they’re on the menu as an appetizer throughout the year, with a pork or vegan filling. The dish is typically served with other sides, like pan de jamón, but it makes a quick lunch or light supper. Though it’s project cooking at its finest, this recipe yields about 25 hallacas that can be frozen for future feasts.
Lumpia
Shatteringly crisp and stuffed with juicy pork filling, Shanghai lumpia are a popular Filipino dish similar to fried spring rolls. Pork is the traditional filling, but they can also be made with a combination of pork and shrimp, ground beef or chicken. If you have one, use a food processor to finely mince the vegetables, and for a pleasant crunch, drop in a big handful of water chestnuts or jicama. Rolling the lumpia into a cigar-like shape takes a little bit of practice, but don’t overstuff them, wrap them tightly so the oil doesn't seep in and keep at it. You can prepare a large batch and freeze (see Tip) until ready to fry. Serve lumpia with store-bought sweet chili sauce for dipping.
Zeppole con le Alici (Fried Anchovy Balls)
Each bite of these anchovy-stuffed fried dough rounds begins with a perfectly crisp exterior that gives way to a yeasty, pillowy interior. Once you hit the fish at the center, you are in briny ecstasy. Simple yet addictive, these finger foods are often served at the start of a meal or as a snack at festive Italian and Italian-American gatherings. If you are cooking for vegetarians, feel free to stuff some balls with a sundried tomato or an olive instead. If making yeasted dough is not in the cards for you, you can use a pound of prepared pizza dough from a supermarket or pizza shop to achieve similar enough results.
Insalata di Frutti di Mare (Italian Seafood Salad)
Crisp and zesty, this version of the classic Italian dish uses shrimp, scallops and calamari but works well with any seafood you can get your hands on. It can be served as an appetizer for a large feast or as the main course of a smaller meal. Steaming the seafood instead of boiling it makes it more tender and simultaneously gives it a snappier bite. Submerged in an abundant amount of tart dressing while it cools in the refrigerator, the seafood, along with fennel and celery, ends up infused with serious flavor. Spicy jarred cherry peppers add a welcome hit of heat, but sweet cherry peppers can be substituted.
Clams Oreganata (Baked Stuffed Clams)
In this take on the beloved Italian American classic, butter crackers are used in place of plain bread crumbs to add their unique fatty saltiness to the crunchy topping. Shallots, dried oregano and Parmesan join the stuffing party, and spooning in a modest amount ensures the flavor of the clams shines through. Sometimes, the clams are chopped up in this dish, but here they’re kept whole to preserve their briny juiciness and to make the preparation easier. Clams are gently steamed just until they open enough to shuck, separating the shells and prying out the meat. Save the cooking liquid to make a delicious buttery wine sauce to spoon over the baked clams before eating.
Tardivo Salad With Pistachio and Citrus
When it comes to wintertime eating, you can count on two things: chicories in abundance and the best citrus of the year. At the cozy Manhattan restaurant Raf’s, executive chef Mary Attea makes the most of both with this tardivo salad, which delivers the style and ingenuity of a restaurant-level dish to any home cook. Tardivo is a top choice for its delicate flavor and dazzling appearance, but endive is a suitable substitute, playing equally well with the fragrant schmear of puréed Sicilian pistachios. The creamy purée acts as the foundation for a bright combination of supremed citrus, sharp fennel and thinly sliced red onion. The dish is mellowed out with good-quality Italian olive oil and fresh lemon juice, and topped with salty slivers of ricotta salata. Serve as an impressive starter at your next dinner party or impress yourself on a weeknight. Either way, you’ve got a hit on your hands.
Cheese Sambousek
These crescent-shaped pocket pastries from Rachel Harary Gindi, a home cook living in Los Angeles are popular in one form or another throughout the Middle East and India. Cooks will find, of course, many variations from all over. This Syrian Jewish version from Aleppo creates the dough using flour and smeed, a fine semolina often also used in Middle Eastern cookies, which is not essential but adds a pleasing texture to the tongue. Some Syrian Jews add several kinds of cheese including feta to the cheese mix. Make this dish your own, as this recipe does with the use of nigella seeds. Topping the sambousek with sesame seeds or (nontraditional) nigella seeds adds a slight complexity to the taste of this mild, homey snack. Though you could certainly brush the tops of the sambousek with water and sprinkle with the seeds, for efficiency you can do as Poopa Dweck, author of “Aromas of Aleppo: The Legendary Cuisine of Syrian Jews” (Ecco, 2007), instructed: “Dip the dough ball or formed sambousek into sesame seeds before baking. The seeds will stick onto the dough.”
Cucumber Pomegranate Salad
Cucumber pomegranate salad is an early fall love story that confidently leaps into winter. Crisp and sweet Persian cucumbers are a welcome companion to ruby-red, tart pomegranate seeds, the jewels of cooler months. Tossed with red onion and both dried and fresh mint, this colorful and tangy salad enlivens a meal and your taste buds. There’s no need to prepare the dressing separately; drizzle and sprinkle everything directly on. The juice from the pomegranate seeds mingling with the lime juice makes for a pink-hued dressing that is worthy of slurping directly from a spoon.
Bao Buns
Easy to make and belly-filling, these Chinese buns, baozi, are believed to have originated as early as 400 B.C. Unlike their bready cousins from other parts of the world, they’re steamed, not baked, which makes them pillowy soft and snow white. The classic size of the loaves is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, but cooks have adapted the recipe to create different shapes to complement their favorite ways to indulge. One of the most common is to form the bao into pockets and generously fill them with slow-roasted duck, drizzled with hoisin sauce and garnished with cilantro sprigs. Whether the tops of the dough rounds are pinched shut or kept open like the clam-shaped bao here, nothing beats a fresh bao straight from the steamer.
Lechon Kawali
Lechon, or whole suckling pig, is traditionally prepared for large holiday gatherings in the Philippines, but lechon kawali, a dish of crispy deep-fried pork belly, is served year-round for special occasions. (Kawali refers to the pan used for frying the pork.) To maximize lechon kawali’s crispiness, it’s important to make sure the skin is as dry as possible. In this version, the pork belly is first simmered in a savory broth of onion, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns, then dried in a low oven. To finish, the pork is fried until the skin is crisp and crackly. Serve lechon kawali with a side of rice, and don’t skip the garlicky vinegar sauce for dipping, which balances the fried pork by adding a necessary tang.
Avocado, Radish and Iceberg Lettuce Salad
I’ve always liked this very simple salad that was served at La Taza de Oro, a now-defunct Puerto Rican diner in New York City.
Easy Crudités
A crudités platter can be as simple as a bunch of vegetables piled on a plate, or as composed as a work of art. Use a mix of raw and blanched vegetables, or just raw, keeping in mind that a variety of colors, shapes and textures will help create a beautiful platter and provide guests with more options. Keep the platter simple, or dress it up with additional snacks, such as marinated olives, artichokes, crackers and nuts, and add homemade or store-bought dips, such as hummus, tzatziki or ranch. This recipe easily scales up or down, just plan on about 1 cup vegetables total (blanched and raw) per person. Serve crudités alongside a charcuterie board for a more substantial spread.
Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread
If pulling apart slices of warm, cheesy, garlicky bread is your idea of a good time, do this: Slice crusty bread into a grid pattern, coat every nook and cranny with garlic butter, tuck in some shredded mozzarella and bake the whole thing. What was just a loaf of bread is now a worthy party centerpiece. You can prepare, wrap and refrigerate the loaf up to one day ahead. The format is adaptable, too: Season the butter with scallions, rosemary or other flavorings, or swap the mozzarella for Cheddar, pepper Jack or another melty cheese you’d use for a grilled cheese.
Onion Bhajiya (Spicy Fritters)
On Diwali, people in India light up their homes, say prayers and go door-to-door exchanging boxes of snacks and sweets. In the northern part of the country, some people fry fresh onion bhajiya, or crispy onion fritters, as an appetizer or snack for visiting guests. Palak Patel, the author of “The Chutney Life: 100 Easy-to-Make, Indian-Inspired Recipes” (Abrams, 2023), included her mother’s recipe in her cookbook, which represents Ms. Patel’s life as an Indian American. Her mother is from Raipur, where the street food is dipped in cilantro chutney, but her children and husband like to dip the fritters in ketchup. Depending on the region, bhajiya can also be called pakora or bhaji. They’re often eaten as a snack during monsoons and served with masala chai.
Spicy Carrot-Ginger Soup
Let’s proceed on the theory that everyone likes soup, and some soups are better than others. You might think of squash for an autumn soup, but this bright soup of carrots, stewed with ginger and jalapeño and finished with a good squeeze of lime and a handful of chopped cilantro, is an example of how not to make the all-too familiar stodgy too-thick purée. Still, feel free to try it with kabocha or butternut squash. If the soup is not to be served immediately, cool after puréeing, and reheat just before serving — it will taste fresher.
Akara (Crispy Bean Fritters)
Traditionally, àkàrà is a celebration food. The plump rounds should be cakelike and fluffy on the inside with a golden exterior, as they are in this recipe from “My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora” by Yewande Komolafe (Ten Speed Press, 2023). Popular in Yorùbá cuisine, it’s a simple dish that requires a careful hand when prepared. Each step from puréeing the ingredients, mixing the batter and frying is critical to developing layers of flavor and texture. Àkàrà is best served warm as a meal when paired with ògi (a fermented cornstarch paste), as a small chop enjoyed by itself or as a sandwich filling between pillowy soft slices of agége bread.
Crispy Rice With Salmon And Avocado
This recipe for golden-crisp blocks of sushi rice topped with cool and creamy salmon and avocado is a riff on a spicy tuna and crispy rice dish created by Katsuya Uechi, a Los Angeles chef who was inspired by yaki onigiri. While the dish does require a number of steps and is best eaten right when it’s made, you can break up the work by cooking the rice and seasoning the salmon with lemon zest and jalapeño up to 24 hours ahead. (In fact, the results will be better if you do.) Right before serving, slice and fry the blocks and top with the salmon and avocado. These gorgeous two-bite treats make an excellent party hors d'oeuvres or full dinner with a cucumber salad.
Crab Cakes
Flavored with Old Bay seasoning, mustard and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, these classic Maryland-style crab cakes are heavy on the crab, with just enough bread crumbs and mayonnaise to hold everything together. Serve with homemade tartar sauce, lemon wedges and a green salad for a special lunch, dinner or appetizer any time of the year. For an hors d’oeuvre-sized portion, form smaller cakes (about 3 tablespoons of batter each) and pan-fry as directed. The batter can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.
Tomato Pie
The Italian American tomato pie is an elemental dish that lets its simple components — a flatbread covered in tomato sauce — really sing. It comes in different forms in different cities. In Philadelphia, tomato pie is an institution unto itself, typically sold from old-school Italian bakeries. Joe Beddia of Pizzeria Beddia is among a younger generation of chefs in the city who are making their own version of tomato pie. His 24-hour fermented dough produces a focaccialike flatbread with a springy interior and a crunchy, golden-brown crust. He covers it with a thin spread of rich tomato sauce, and finishes it with a generous drizzle of fruity olive oil and restrained sprinkle of Sicilian oregano. Eat it at room temperature as they do in Philadelphia — it makes for an ideal, make-ahead buffet addition, especially on Eagles game days.
Shrimp Saganaki
Built for a weeknight but worthy of company, this Greek dish coddles shrimp in a delicate tomato sauce that gains depth from olives, ouzo and feta. Its name is derived from sagani, a two-handled pan in which the dish is traditionally cooked and served. Garides saganaki can be an appetizer, mopped up with bread, or it can anchor a meal. Some versions might be flambéed, but this recipe, from “Salt of the Earth: Secrets and Stories from a Greek Kitchen” by Carolina Doriti (Quadrille Publishing, 2023), is sautéed, then baked, which is an easy way to ensure plump, pillowy pieces of shrimp. If you don’t have licorice-scented ouzo, Ms. Doriti suggests brandy or white wine as potential substitutes.