Lunch
2842 recipes found
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.
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This Za'atar-Feta Caesar Salad May Be the Best Yet—Just Ask Our Editors
In this easy recipe, creamy labneh, tangy feta, and za'atar bring bold new energy to a classic Caesar.
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.
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Tired of Dry Turkey Burgers? This Juicy Smashed Version Fixes That
Juicy turkey smash burgers get a savory upgrade with Portuguese chouriço and a bold, Mozambique-inspired spiced mayonnaise.
Burst Cherry Tomato Orzotto
Peak-season cherry tomatoes and fragrant basil join forces in this light and summery one-pot orzotto. Cherry tomatoes are first cooked down with aromatics until they burst and their juices thicken. This concentrated tomato mixture fortifies the broth, imparting its flavor to the orzo. Stirring every minute or so releases the pasta’s starch, while a pat of butter makes this dish silky and that much more reminiscent of a saucy risotto. The orzotto is only as good as the tomatoes you use, so be sure to use the best ones you can get your hands on. Topping each serving with a handful of arugula is a wonderful way to incorporate more greens and add a bit of fresh, peppery zing.
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.
Strawberry Pasta
This Polish childhood staple of creamy strawberry sauce over pasta is a fast, fuss-free way to make the most of peak summer berries.
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.
Chai Masala Tamales From Masala y Maiz
Sweet, spiced, and unforgettable--these chai masala tamales from Masala y Maiz blend Indian and Mexican flavors for a unique twist on a classic dish.
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Meet the Meatiest French Dip Sandwich—but Hold the Beef
A hearty, meatless French dip built on browned mushrooms, melted provolone, and a herby mushroom jus for dunking.
Ginger-Lime Cucumber Salad
Cooling, refreshing and supremely easy to make, this cucumber salad spotlights spicy ginger, bright lime juice and a blend of fresh herbs to emphasize its green color and flavor. The most essential ingredient, an often-overlooked component in the cucumber universe, is patience. Marinating cucumbers, even if only for 10 minutes, allows new and distinct flavors the opportunity to penetrate the juicy flesh, resulting in a more savory outcome. Make this salad a couple of hours before serving, or even the night before, to allow the dressing its most optimal influence. Spoon this salad over freshly toasted, crusty bread, with or without a few slices of gravlax, along with the juices that inevitably pool at the bottom of the salad bowl.
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.
Swedish Shrimp Toast (Räkmacka)
On this episode of Recipe Drop, where one of our Test Kitchen experts guides you through a brand-new recipe, Nea introduces us to Räkmacka, or Swedish Shrimp Toast. This simple, yet elegant dish comes together in no time, the perfect lunchtime indulgence.
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.
Tomato, Bacon and Corn Salad
This super-summery salad is all about big, bold bites — juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, creamy avocado and crispy bacon. It’s tossed with nothing more than a generous squeeze of lime and a little reserved bacon fat for extra richness and smokiness. Plenty of cilantro (or another herb of your choice) keeps it fresh. It’s hearty enough to be dinner, but also plays well with anything grilled, roasted or just eaten outdoors. Some thick toast on the side could make this a full meal.
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.
Summer Roll Noodle Salad
Taking a cue from Vietnamese summer rolls, this rice vermicelli noodle salad is packed with the bold, bright flavors and textures reminiscent of its namesake dish. With tender lettuce for its sweet, earthiness (and a nod to the lettuce often used to wrap around spring rolls), a hefty handful of fresh herbs and plump shrimp, this salad is texturally rich and full of fresh flavors. The dressing — a hybrid of peanut dipping sauce and nước chấm — is nutty, punchy and deeply savory thanks to the fish sauce and hoisin. To lessen the fiery bite of the Thai chile in the dressing, let it sit in the lime juice before adding the rest of the ingredients. A combination of carrots and bean sprouts bulk up the salad, but feel free to swap more of one for the other.
Herby Lobster Roll
Zucchini and Fennel Salad
It’s not properly summer until you have too much zucchini in your life, spilling out of your market bags and collecting in your crisper drawer. This recipe takes what might feel like a bumper crop burden and makes it a star of the season once more. Fresh, crisp and bright, this plucky, lemony shaved zucchini and fennel salad is easy to throw together for a lovely summer luncheon or dinner. An incredibly à la minute salad, the vegetables are basically softened in the moment with the salt and the acid, so make sure to serve this salad quickly for optimal texture and taste. While it is crispest and freshest as soon as it’s made, leftovers will be just as lovely, albeit not as crisp, the next day, and can be perked up with fresh herbs or even repurposed: Roughly chop and toss with arugula and cooked chicken for a great, hearty lunch. This is a salad that gives and gives.
Broccoli Soba Salad
Inspired by the flavors of crave-worthy yamitsuki, a Japanese cabbage dish named for its addictive qualities, this broccoli soba salad is an assured crowd pleaser. A brief marination in salt tenderizes the broccoli, making it more receptive to a humble yet powerful trio of seasonings: salt, garlic and sesame oil. The unlikely addition of vegetable stock paste or bouillon powder bolsters the emphatic umami of this dish; if you have MSG in your pantry, you could add a few pinches of that instead. Using both the flower and stalk of the broccoli adds both texture and crunch to the foundation of nutty soba noodles. This is the perfect prep-ahead dish, as it benefits from chilling to allow the flavors to meld and the soba to become firmer and less fragile.
Stonefruit & Halloumi Sandwich
A summer sandwich designed to scratch the same itch as a BLT, but giving in-season nectarines their chance in the spotlight.