Perfectly ripe fruit — peaches or otherwise — is crucial to success here. Other fruits to substitute: apricots, plums, sweet cherries, nectarines.
Thin-Cut Coconut Pork Chops with Pickled Vegetables
In Cambodia, there’s a popular breakfast dish called bai sach chrouk, traditionally prepared over charcoal fires by roadside vendors. It’s served with rice and a bird’s nest of pickled shredded vegetables, and stands at the intersection of sweet, sour, savory, and spicy. This takes you there, any time of day.
You can use this recipe with pork sirloin steaks, too. I also like to use this marinade for pork kebabs and boneless chicken.
Fish Fillets with Avocado-Cilantro Salsa
Grilled fish and fresh salsa is one of my favorite combinations. The salsas here and in the variations are slightly offbeat, with vibrant flavors and textures that perfectly complement the mild sweetness of the fish. When fillets still have their skin on—the thin kind that’s edible—all the better. The fire will crunch it up for even more contrast. Bass and salmon are both great choices to try. These salsas also pair great with seared sea scallops.
Tomato and Corn Cobbler
A classic cobbler turned savory. You don’t get to put whipped cream on it, but you do get to shower the crisp biscuit top with Parmesan cheese.
Mexican Street Corn
A fantastic street food, usually served on a stick. But at home there’s no need for that.
Succotash
This winning combination takes advantage of two of the best frozen foods: corn and lima beans. When you have both handy, this dish comes together in no time.
Tofu Sandwich with Cucumber and Hoisin Mayo
I’m crazy about cucumber sandwiches: not the dainty English teatime fare, although those are good too, but big-flavored ones, like those with goat cheese, hummus, and, yes, tofu.
Oven-Baked Ratatouille
The French classic stew is simple, no matter where you cook it. Combine vegetables, herbs, and olive oil, and soften them on the stove or in the oven. That’s it. Longish, slow cooking and lots of good olive oil are important.
Have a robust serving with bread for a light repast or roast a chicken, grill a skirt steak, or pan-sear a piece of fish and it’s a hearty meal.
Baja-Style Fish Tacos with Grilled Slaw and Chipotle Mayo
Traditionally the fish for Baja-style tacos is batter-fried, but cooking the fillets on the grill makes more sense. It’s much quicker and a lot less messy. And grilling the cabbage before turning it into slaw adds another layer of smokiness. To retain heat for cooking the fish, keep the lid of the grill down while you put together the slaw and chipotle mayonnaise.
Simplest and Best Shrimp Dish
Excuse the superlatives; this spin on a Spanish tapa is my favorite, and everyone I serve it to loves it. The shrimp juices infuse the oil, and the sum is beyond delicious. It’s good with bread, over rice, tossed with pasta, or stuffed into tacos.
Other seafood you can use: similar-sized scallops (or larger, though they’ll take longer to cook).
Eggplant, La Tavernetta Style
Inspiration from a restaurant in Naples, run by the Vittozzi family.
Corn and Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Feta, and Mint
After a fan raved about Mark’s raw corn salad, I posted the recipe in the original recipe in the thread. Now here’s how to spin the super easy — and somewhat shocking — crowd-pleaser into lunch or dinner. My latest version includes some farro; its pleasant earthiness and chew offer heft in a salad of sweet corn, mint, and tomatoes. You could also use rice, bulgur, quinoa, or steel-cut oats. Just make sure the grains — or pasta for that matter — aren’t straight out of the fridge, which exacerbates the starch and makes for unpleasant eating. If you don’t have anything already cooked, start a pot going first thing, then toss the corn salad with the warm grain for a room temperature feast. (Or chill it all down for a few minutes in the freezer before serving.) Other ideas for bulking: crisp salad greens, black beans or chickpeas, grilled chicken, or cooked shrimp.
Vegannaise
A few tips: Cider vinegar lends a more mayonnaise-like flavor; lemon juice is brighter. For a slightly golden tint, add a pinch of turmeric. And don’t skimp on the blending time; your reward will be a creamy consistency.
Caesar Salad
The essentials in a real Caesar salad are garlic, egg — which here I like to coddle just a bit for texture—lemon juice, anchovies, and real parmesan cheese. Of course, you can easily make this vegetarian by skipping the anchovies and Worcestershire; or take it in the opposite direction by adding chopped cooked chicken, steak, or shrimp.
Broccoli Rabe With Sausage And Grapes
With the meat, this becomes a main course, a simple Italian classic, and one of my favorites. Without the grapes and thinned with a little water or stock, it makes an amazing pasta sauce.
Other vegetables you can use: broccoli, broccolini, gai lan, turnip or mustard greens, asparagus, kale, collards. Substitute chopped apple for the grapes if you like.
Beans and Tomatoes
Totally rustic, especially if you leave the fresh tomatoes in big chunks. You can serve these beans alongside roast or grilled meat, chicken, or fish; or, for an easy dinner, spoon over rice or thickly sliced bread, or toss with pasta or grains. We used cannellini beans here, but you can also any other white beans that you find: the bigger the better.
Cheese Quesadillas
The key to successful quesadillas is to resist overfilling them. Too much cheese makes them ooze all over the place; too many other ingredients and the cheese can’t hold the two tortillas together. That said, few hot dishes make better — or easier — use of little bits of leftovers. Here’s a base recipe that’s delicious as is, but ready for your add-ins.
Creamy Pasta with Chickpea Crumble
Instead of eggs, my vegan take on carbonara features aquafaba — the water left behind after draining cooked or canned chickpeas — which is usually thrown out.
Toasted Edamame with Cherry Tomatoes
The interior of edamame veers more toward the gritty part of the bean texture spectrum, which makes them perfect for toasting — almost like nuts. Another good option is frozen green fava beans. They’re usually easier to find than they used to be, but for some reason, I came up short in three places last week. I also used chopped fresh oregano and sage leaves instead of the parsley. Further proof this recipe is totally adaptable. Serve over thick bread slices or rice or toss with pasta or torn salad greens.
Lemon-Rosemary Cauliflower Steaks With Manchego
These were all the rage a few summers ago and I still love them. One tip: The larger and tighter the cauliflower, the better they slice into steaks. The simple seasonings here make the steaks easy to serve with your favorite sides and build a satisfying meal.