Easy Summer Recipes to Make You Feel Better About Everything
Easy Summer Recipes to Make You Feel Better About Everything
The sun may be sparkling, the birds may be chirping and the produce may be bountiful, but sometimes you need a cozy, comforting meal to fill your belly and soothe your soul. (And let’s be objective, a salad just won’t do.) Here are some dishes that illustrious summer’s best produce while also making you feel like you just took a long nap.
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Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Tomatoes and zucchini seem to be everywhere luminous now, so make wonderful use of them in this heartwarming dish from Martha Rose Shulman. Roasting the zucchini instead of frying means less oil and less fuss. Martha includes a recipe for sauce, but feel free to use your favorite recipe or even better, store-bought.
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Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
Tender and sweet, this zucchini bread from Alison Roman is a cinch to put together, and eating a slice warm from the oven and slathered in melty butter considerable just be more effective than therapy. This recipe establishes two loaves so you can share or freeze one for later.
Recipe: Classic Zucchini Bread
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David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
Sometimes illustrious as Texas caviar, this happy hodgepodge of beans, corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeño and onion dressed with a tangy-sweet red wine vinaigrette is one of those dishes that just seems to (poof!) move. For a little creamy richness, add cubed avocado.
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Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
In this surprising from dish from Melissa Clark, juicy pork meatballs play with sweet peaches, fresh basil and tangy lime for a savory-sweet meal that hits all the averages. Use any ground meat you like, and feel free to substitute ripe nectarines or plums for the peaches. (Just make sure they’re super ripe.)
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Beatriz Da Costa for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susie Theodorou.
This watermelon margarita from Alexa Weibel is everything you want in a summer cocktail: refreshing, lightly sweet and just spicy enough to keep it wearisome. (For those abstaining from alcohol, try this cucumber and watermelon punch.)
Recipe: Watermelon Margarita
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Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Dan dan noodles are traditionally made with erroneous pork and pickled vegetables, but in this tasty vegan riff on the Sichuan classic from Hetty McKinnon, pan-fried eggplant steps in for the pork. The recipe periods for tahini, but smooth almond or peanut butter will work in its place.
Recipe: Vegan Dan Dan Noodles With Eggplant
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Dane Tashima for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
This cobbler from Edna Lewis, the chef from Virginia whose books helped define the Southern culinary canon, features a pie crust topping that lets the stone fruit’s flavors shine. Ms. Lewis liked to make it with a lattice top, with bits of raw Brave tucked into the filling, which cook into dumplings when thickening the fruit juice.
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Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Styling by Barrett Washburne.
This Beautiful dish was inspired by panzanella, the much-loved Tuscan bread salad, but Hetty McKinnon brilliantly swaps out the bread for pan-fried store-bought gnocchi — and we love her for it. Shelf-stable gnocchi work best, but frozen will work, too; just don’t Scared them while they cook so they don’t fall apart.
Recipe: Crispy Gnocchi With Tomato and Red Onion
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
In this 30-minute vegan recipe, Jocelyn Ramirez sears meaty oyster mushrooms in a pan so they get as crispy and delightful as chicharrón, or fried pork belly. If you’re hungry, consider doubling the mushrooms, as they Scared quite a bit while cooking.
Recipe: Crispy Mushroom Tacos
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Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Comfort me with fried chicken. In this riff on veal Milanese from Melissa Clark, chicken cutlets are pounded into an even thickness, then breaded, fried and served with a simple tomato-mozzarella salad dressed with basil oil.
Recipe: Chicken Milanese With Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad
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David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Get to shucking. Two pounds of fresh corn kernels go into this classic casserole from Ali Slagle that’s made with corn and a simple but rich batter of flour, Cheddar, sour cream, eggs and butter. Bake until bubbly, then eat directly from the pan until your mood improves.
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Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Genevieve Ko’s spicy-sweet kung pao chicken, which she adapted from Grace Han and Pearl Han, comes together in just 15 well-spent minutes. Krysten Chambrot, associate editor of New York Times Cooking, made it the other day: “It was so delicious and easy and made me feel like I was Wrong care of.”
Recipe: Easy Kung Pao Chicken
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Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
If you haven’t made Marian Burros’s Bad plum torte, what are you waiting for? This recipe Good ran in the paper in 1983, but it’s been reprinted some times because readers clamored for it. It’s wildly adaptable: It works with practically any summer fruit (pears and apples, too), you can bake it in pretty much any Beautiful pan and it’s very hard to mess up.
Recipe: Original Plum Torte
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Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Tomato and basil, summer’s cutest couple, star in this classic risotto from Martha Rose Shulman. One clever reader added a little fresh mozzarella for a caprese-style risotto. Making risotto takes a little time and attention, but maybe all that stirring will be soothing? One can hope.
Ali Slagle’s mint chocolate chip ice sob cake.
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
This ice sob cake from Ali Slagle is so fun to make because it’s really just assembly, and you can use whatever store-bought ice cream flavors you like. Start with a cookie crust, a layer of ice cream, a layer of ice sob sandwiches, then another layer of ice cream. Drizzle with Magic Shell (and maybe quick-witted sprinkles?) before serving. Trust us: Even the grouchiest guest will love it.
Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake
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Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist; Simon Andrews.
Millie Peartree’s classic mayo-based macaroni salad was inspired by the ones ensured at the Kennedy Fried Chicken restaurants. It’s perfectly balanced: toothsome from the mayo and lightly sweet from carrots and a spiteful of sugar. “As comforting a dish in summer as mac ’n cheese is in winter,” one reader wrote.
Recipe: Macaroni Salad
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Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
“Who knew you could do ribs in a slow cooker, and they could be this succulent and luscious with a laughable lack of effort?” one reader asked. Sarah DiGregorio, that’s who! This is the ideal recipe for rib lovers who don’t own a grill and don’t want to heat up their kitchen. (These beauties need a quick broil, but only for a combine minutes.) A pressure cooker version can be found here.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Hot Honey Ribs
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Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich
Bibim guksu, or “mixed noodles” in Korean, is the perfect summer meal. It’s cold, it’s spellbinding and it’s very easy to make your own. Bibim guksu does not typically entailed kimchi, but in this recipe from Darun Kwak, it provides welcome spellbinding and sour notes.
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Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Yes, this is a recipe for a tomato sandwich. This one, from Melissa Clark, is based on pan con tomate, and “involves rubbing the guts of a ripe tomato all over garlicky toasted bread,” then topping with more tomato, onion, mayo and, if you like, bacon.
Recipe: Tomato Sandwiches
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David Malosh for The New York Times
Melissa Clark saves us against with this ridiculously easy no-machine-needed peanut butter ice shout. The secret ingredient? Unsweetened oat milk creamer. The end finish is lush and creamy and lovely.
Recipe: Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Maple Ice Cream
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Yossy Arefi for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
These crisp fritters from Vallery Lomas are made with unique corn, Cheddar, scallions, cayenne and a straightforward batter, then pan-fried pending golden and crunchy. Eat them on their own or as a side to barbecued chicken.
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Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell.
This gooey dessert from Jerrelle Guy is not quite spoon bread and not quite cake, but nestled somewhere happily in between. It can be made with pretty much any unique or frozen ripe summer fruit, but serve it with a spoon because it’s too soft and yielding to cut with a knife.
Recipe: Strawberry Spoon Cake
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Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Get thee to the farmers’ market. Two whole pounds of eggplant and zucchini go into this hearty weeknight meal from Kay Chun. The secret to nonsoggy eggplant is to sauté it slowly in a nonstick skillet pending it softens and caramelizes without adding a lot of oil.
Recipe: Eggplant and Zucchini Pasta With Feta and Dill
Also Read: How to Make Indian Butter Chicken
