Appetizer
3523 recipes found
Butternut Squash and Green Curry Soup
This creamy, vibrant soup is a Thai-inspired version of the puréed squash soup you know and love. The green curry paste, which is relatively easy to find in the international aisle of the grocery store, along with coconut milk and fish sauce, perfectly complements the butternut squash's sweetness. But it's the topping — a spin on miang kham, a snack in Thailand and Laos full of peanuts, coconut and chiles — that's the real standout.
Ham and Cheese Quick Bread
This is the kind of savory cake that you make once and then play around with for years to come. In this version, there are chopped roasted red peppers, small chunks of ham, some herbs and three cheeses (mozzarella, Parmesan and fontina). The cheeses could be Cheddar and Gruyère and a semisoft, easily meltable cheese of your choice. The batter could have chopped Calabrian chiles or pepperoncini (go easy on these hot peppers), a different mix of herbs, scallions or shallots for the chives and pancetta or bacon bits for the meat (or you can skip the meat). Cut the cake into fingers to have with wine or serve it alongside soup or salad. And if it goes a little stale, simply toast it.
Jammy Deviled Eggs
Topping hard-boiled eggs with fiery condiments dates back to ancient Rome (and gave deviled eggs their name), but stirring the seasonings into the yolks, then spooning the mixture back into the egg whites is believed to have started much later. Do like the Romans do, and skip the scooping and refilling and instead make an appetizer with the same flavors and more creaminess, but less fuss. Steam the eggs just until the yolks are fudgy, halve them, then dollop with punchy mayonnaise. You can embellish the mayo with chopped pickles, shallots or other herbs, but avoid additional liquid, as the results could glide off the egg.
Pork and Ricotta Meatballs
Ricotta is the secret to tenderness in these all-purpose meatballs. Serve them plain, with a marinara sauce for dipping, or simmer the meatballs in tomato sauce for serving over spaghetti. Ground chicken is a great alternative and will yield cheesier tasting meatballs.
Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs
Cremini mushrooms, chickpeas and bulgur wheat mimic the texture of ground meat in this vegetarian version of the classic Swedish meatball dish. Seasoned generously with allspice and nutmeg and blanketed in a velvety mushroom gravy, they are excellent served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes — or spooned onto a toasted hero (add sliced tangy pickles to balance out the richness). Leftover cooked meatballs can be frozen and reheated in a 425-degree oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes.
Crab Cakes Baltimore-Style
This is a classic crab cake inspired by those that were served at Obrycki's Crab House, a rollicking fish restaurant in a former row house on East Pratt Street in Baltimore. They are simply delicious.
Via Carota’s Insalata Verde
At Via Carota, the charming West Village restaurant run by the partners Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, the menu description for insalata verde does little to give away any details about what makes it so unbelievably, mouth-smackingly perfect. A visual inspection of the dish reveals only leaves of endive, butter lettuce, frisée and watercress all piled as high as gravity will allow, topped by a drizzle of dressing studded generously with shallots and mustard seeds. In truth, all the secrets of this otherworldly salad lay in the graceful, unlikely application of a flavorless one: water. First, the five carefully chosen types of lettuce are all triple-washed to yield what Williams called “a super happy salad.” Next, the minced shallots are given a quick rinse under cold water — instead of a long maceration in vinegar — to keep them shalloty and savory and prevent them from becoming too acidic, which could overwhelm the delicate lettuces. And finally, and perhaps most surprising, Williams adds a spoonful of warm water to the vinaigrette. “We add warm water to make it more palatable,” she explained. “Pure vinegar is just too strong — it assaults the taste buds. We want a salad dressing so savory and delicious that you can eat spoonfuls of it. We want you to be able to drink it!” This might just become your go-to vinaigrette. Spoon it liberally over everything from boiled asparagus to farro salad to steak and fish and roast chicken. It’s so good that you might even be tempted to pour it into a glass and top it off with sparkling water.
Grand Green Aioli
“Le grand aioli” is a classic Provençal meal of vegetables and steamed seafood, centered on a rich and lemony garlic-laden aioli for dipping. Here, the sauce is vibrant with fresh parsley. This summery dish features a colorful mix of crunchy vegetables and crisp lettuces alongside steamed nutty edamame, to keep it vegetarian. But poached shrimp, rotisserie chicken, canned tuna and hard-boiled eggs would all be welcome for dipping. Very little cooking is required — just some quick boiling — making this perfect for a stress-free weeknight dinner or a celebratory get-together. Leftover aioli is a terrific sandwich spread, as well as a versatile dressing for roasted potatoes or pasta salad.
Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken With Fried Basil
This spiced fried chicken is a staple in the night markets of Taiwan. You can order the chicken in cutlet form or small bites like these, which are served in paper bags with wooden skewers. This recipe uses a few spices that cannot be skipped: five-spice powder and white pepper. The Sichuan peppercorns are a bonus, adding a little numbing tingle. If you can’t find Sichuan peppercorns, use black peppercorns instead. You won’t get the same tingly feeling, but the chicken will be just as good. This fried chicken recipe happens to be gluten-free thanks to the tapioca flour, which imparts the dish’s signature crunch.
Salsa Tatemada Norteña (Fire-Roasted Salsa)
Every region of Mexico has its way of making a chunky, fire-roasted salsa, with the classic tomato, onion and chile trio; it goes by tatemada, if charred, or martajada, if mashed. With only three ingredients, regional variations taste radically different based on the chile of choice, which becomes the soul of the salsa, defining its personality. In the Yucatan, the feisty habanero rules, but in Mexico’s north (as well as Arizona and New Mexico), the king is Anaheim chile, whose crisp bite and mild, peppery taste embody this salsa tatemada norteña, a favorite for carne asada cookouts. The secret to making this salsa shine is to be generous with the salt; the charred juicy ingredients will appreciate it. Dip your chips in it, top your quesadillas with it or ladle it on sunny-side-up eggs sitting on refried beans for a northern style variation of huevos rancheros.
Fancy Pigs in a Blanket
For decades, pigs in a blanket have been a staple on the cocktail-party circuit. The little sausages are the easy part. It’s the pastry which, at its finest, should approximate buttery, flaky French puff pastry or pâte feuilletée. Suppose you could make decently flaky puff pastry in minutes? Christian Leue, the manager of La Boîte, a spice emporium in New York, has developed just such a marvel. And it works.
Shrimp Cocktail
This method for a beloved appetizer maximizes flavor by gently poaching shrimp in a deeply seasoned broth of salt, chile powder and celery seeds. Rather than wash away all the spices with a rinse or a plunge in an ice bath, you stop the cooking by pouring ice directly into the hot bath. For dipping, go for a classic cocktail sauce with the sharp brightness of lemon and horseradish, or a simple garlicky dill butter, which makes the shrimp taste somehow of lobster, or a comforting, warmly spiced honey mustard, because you always need a creamy option. Enjoy the plump shrimp with your favorite sauce — or all three.
Roasted Potato Salad With Jalapeño-Avocado Dressing
As one of the most adaptable dishes, potato salad has withstood countless reimaginings. In this version, roasted potatoes are paired with two types of beans: Cannellini beans offer a hearty creaminess, while green beans add a welcome crisp-tenderness. If you have garlic or onion powder in your spice rack, use it to add some umami to the roasted potatoes. The avocado dressing is zingy and full of lively flavors; make it as spicy as you can handle, and if you are looking for more tanginess, substitute the mayonnaise with sour cream or crème fraîche.
Buffalo Crudités With Blue Cheese Dip
Doused in something spicy, crisp crudités can become habit-forming. Inspired by the Buffalo cucumber salad at Parm in New York, this recipe coats the traditional sidekicks to Buffalo chicken — celery, carrots and other raw vegetables — in the garlic-spiked hot sauce that is traditionally doused on wings. The result is finger food at its finest: crunchy, flavor-packed and begging for beer (and blue cheese). Buffalo chicken wings might be written off as a bar fixture, but they’re a great example of contrasts: hot and cold, spicy and cooling, crisp and juicy. Like kimchi or chile-flecked melon, these crudités accentuate the play between spicy and fresh.
Gajjara Kosambari (Carrot Salad)
There are countless variations of this style of salad from Karnataka, but my favorite is a simple version made with crunchy raw carrots, dressed with a little tempered fat, coconut, citrus and chopped herbs. If fresh coconut isn’t available, keep a bag of frozen grated coconut in the freezer. It’s easy to find at most Indian grocery stores and, when you have it on hand, you can bring this salad together in less than five minutes.
Greek Tomato Salad
The Greek approach to a good tomato salad, whether it has cucumbers and lettuce or not (this one doesn’t), is all about keeping it simple. Sweet, ripe summer tomatoes, salt and olive oil are all you need. The flourishes here — green pepper, red onion, chopped mint and pinch of oregano — are optional, but they add brightness. Good Greek feta cheese takes it over the top.
Party Board
This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen. You don’t need a recipe for a party board, which is a fine dinner for a Wednesday night. You don’t even need a no-recipe recipe. You need only what cheese is in the refrigerator, sliced or wedged or cubed, along with cured meats — I like rolled mortadella, spread inside with a little mayonnaise and dotted with pickled jalapeño — and a little bread or pile of crackers. Maybe add to the board some cherry tomatoes, halved and tossed in olive oil and good vinegar with salt and pepper? You could stuff them with mozzarella, if you have the time. Or celery, cut into batons? Carrots, likewise? Raw or roasted peppers, sliced? The chef Gabrielle Hamilton calls the assemblage a snack tray. In the name of romance, she once stacked Pringles on one, with a ramekin of Castelvetrano olives. Her swain, now her wife, Ashley Merriman, responded with “pepperoni cut as thin as fish scales and shingled just as neatly.” You could go with Jarlsberg, Triscuits and vodka sodas. Or smoked salmon, shaved asparagus, some crème fraîche with chives, dill and tarragon. A party board is what you make of it. Sam Sifton features a no-recipe recipe every Wednesday in his What to Cook newsletter. Sign up to receive it. You can find more no-recipe recipes here.
Melon, Cucumber and Cherry Tomato Salad
This is an extremely simple, yet spectacularly refreshing salad, especially when made from height-of-the-season summer produce. Ripe melon mirrors the tomatoes’ sweetness. Cucumber, a relative of melon, gives both crunch and flavor. A handful of basil and mint leaves, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice added just before serving, bring it all together.
Cacio e Pepe Cheese Puffs
Ina Garten’s 12th cookbook, “Modern Comfort Food,” was published in October 2020. As always, she seemed to have her finger on the culinary zeitgeist: Comfort was the order of the day. These puffs, which she adapted from the Brooklyn chef Missy Robbins, combine the richness of classic gougères with the bite of black pepper and Parmesan.
Empanadas de Chipilín
These empanadas are very common in the food stalls of the mercados and tianguis (open-air market) in the southern state of Chiapas. A plant native to Mexico, chipilín lends its leaves to stews and salsas, and is mixed into corn masa to make tortillas, tamales and empanadas in the country’s center and south. Adding chipilín to masa lends a subtle herbaceousness that complements the earthiness of the corn. If you can’t find it, spinach, chard or kale makes a great substitute.
Grilled Romaine
Lettuces do nicely on the grill, softening slightly at their centers and charring beautifully at their tips. Their bitterness is a fine counterpart to the sweet spiciness of a lot of grilled foods. In this recipe, the dressing is Caesar-like. Mustard and mayonnaise serve as emulsifiers, while anchovies, garlic and vinegar provide a welcome kick. Make sure to paint the dressing into the crevices between the leaves, so that while the lettuce caramelizes slightly on the exterior, there is still warm creaminess within.
Blistered Shishito Peppers
This appetizer served in Japanese bars, American steakhouses and everywhere in between is finger food at its best. The charred, sweet peppers have a built-in handle, and they really don’t need more than flaky salt for seasoning. That said, you could garnish further with lemon or lime zest, gomasio, bonito flakes, grated cheese, smoked paprika, sumac and so on. You can also cook Padrón peppers using the same method. They have a slightly different shape, but are similarly thin-skinned and mild. One warning, though: Each batch of shishito and Padrón peppers have a handful of surprisingly hot peppers that look identical to the tame ones, so proceed with caution.
Florentine Dip
A good dip transcends time — especially one with fresh herbs, which makes this 1959 recipe from Craig Claiborne stand out amid other recipes from the convenience food era of the 1940s and ’50s. Studded with capers, garlic and anchovies, the dip comes together quickly, then sits in the refrigerator, ready to buy you time should your guests arrive early while the rest of the meal runs late.
Grilled Figs With Pomegranate Molasses
These are wonderful. First you toss them in a mix of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, then you grill them on both sides just until they soften and grill marks appear (at which point they are warm all the way through and just beginning to become jammy), then you remove from the grill and brush with pomegranate molasses. It’s a match made in heaven. Serve while the figs are still warm, as a first course with goat cheese, or as a dessert with ricotta or yogurt.