Starter

For a simple, just-the-right-amount-of-salty appetizer, doctor up a tin of anchovies. The acid, heat, and olive oil mellow the anchovies’ flavor, and serving them with a seedy loaf of bread and butter rounds the recipe.

Baked Brie and Camembert, rescued from the ordinary, are even better with an herby garlicky mess slathered over them before hitting the oven.

These sugared doughnuts are craggy and crunchy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside. Apple butter (not sauce!) is key to their texture and flavor; look for it alongside jams and jellies in the supermarket, or at farmers’ markets, or make your own.

This antipasto platter goes way past jarred peppers and cold cuts, with roasted vegetables that change with the seasons. Even at room temp, these options round out any meat and cheese platter.

Don’t let the veggies hang out in the vinegar for too long. You want them to stay crunchy!

Plums are summer’s all-stars. You should eat and cook with them only when they are peaking, plentiful, and widely available in many varieties.

The dressing has virtually no oil in it, balancing acidity with the sweetness of apple juice and fattiness of the cheese and nuts.

We’re over having to carefully cut the peels off citrus before slicing them; simply peeling them first keeps their natural shape intact and saves time.

You can use almost any type of plum in this salad recipe, even hybrid ones like Pluots and Peacotums. If it looks like a plum, it probably acts like a plum too.

Using frozen puff pastry is the shortcut that makes this tart a new summer weeknight favorite recipe.

This makes an extra quart of cooked beans. Save (or freeze) for another batch of escarole, or serve them simply warmed in their broth.

Eggplant gets a big lift from buttery avocado and an irresistibly kicky, creamy sauce.

These golden-brown fritters are bursting with fresh flavor, thanks to a generous helping of Swiss chard, parsley, cilantro, and dill.

This zippy, herbaceous drinkable soup is like a trip to the farmers’ market in a glass.

Serve this salad as soon as it is assembled so all of the tomato juices and flavor stay where they belong.

Serve this dip with chips, as part of a meze platter, or slather it on grilled chicken thighs or lamb chops.

Real talk: This is a dish to make when the tomatoes are peaking—at the farmers’ market, you should be able to smell them before you see them.

Keeping the garlic whole and removing once it has added enough flavor will keep the flavor more mild, but if you want more of a punch, grate it before adding and leave it in.

Learning how to properly caramelize onions is key. Once you've mastered the basic technique, you’ll use them for everything from French onion soup to onion dip to topping burgers.