Vegan
Vegan Pie and Pastry Dough
Use refined coconut oil for a vegan pie crust that's flaky without a noticeable coconut flavor.
Ginger and Tamarind Refresher
While it is not uncommon to find ginger blended into limeades, lemonades, and fresh sugarcane juice in India, it also pairs nicely with tamarind. Serve cold and give it a good stir before drinking.
This recipe is made with tamarind pulp, which contains large seeds that you will need to remove. Avoid the temptation to use concentrates. They’re more convenient because they don’t have seeds, but they don’t taste nearly as fresh.
Instant Pot Bisibelabath
Bisibelabath is kitcheree’s spicier cousin. The name means “hot lentil rice,” so consider yourself warned—this is a spicy dish of vegetables, rice, and lentils straight out of South India. I like to serve it with raita to cool things off.
Salad Ramen
Fresh ramen noodles become a dreamy throw-together summer meal thanks to a kaleidoscope of crunchy veggies and a tangy pantry-staple dressing.
Tiger Fruit Salad
This salad is inspired by Chinese dish lao hu cai, otherwise known as tiger salad. Unripe plums, nectarines, or peaches marinate in a spicy dressing and get tossed with crisp celery and herbs.
Pajeon Sauce
This bright, vinegary sauce is works wonderfully with all manner of panfried or deep-fried battered foods, including scallion pancakes and dumplings.
Shaak-no Sambharo (Quick Pickled Vegetables)
Quick pickled vegetables are welcomed any time of the year. Use fresh produce like cauliflower, carrots, radish, radish pods, or raw turmeric for this preparation.
Gol-Keri (Quick Mango Achaar)
This mango achaar is of our favorite ways to eat tart mangoes in the summer. This sweet-spicy preparation traditionally pairs with seasoned or stuffed rotis and parathas.
Brad’s Spoon Sauce
This all-purpose condiment is an ideal finisher for anything you might care to grill. Make it ahead and have it ready to spoon over grilled meats, fish, and vegetables.
Cooler-Steamed Corn
Grill your corn right away over the high heat of just-lit coals, then let it hang out in a cooler while you grill proteins and more delicate vegetables. The corn will finish cooking by steaming in the cooler and stay warm for hours.
Speedy Summer Gazpacho
The formula for this cooling summer soup couldn’t be simpler: blended cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet red peppers, plus garlic, herbs, and fresh citrus.
Black-Eyed Pea Burgers With Creamy Barbecue Sauce and Chowchow
These creamy black-eyed pea patties are flavored with mushroom, miso, tamari, and Scotch bonnet chiles. They’re finished off with a sweet-and-tangy barbecue sauce and a spoonful of chowchow.
Chowchow
Canning and preserving have long been an essential tactic of survival, and chowchow is a condiment born of both ingenuity and necessity. Here, green tomatoes not yet ripe enough to eat are transformed into a bright pickled expression of the first days of summer. It has been said that chowchow began as a collection of remnant produce that couldn’t be used in other dishes, so it became its own reclaimed relish. As you chop each vegetable, consider that origin: making the most from the least, creating abundance from scarcity. You can use four heatproof glass pint jars for this, though I prefer eight 8-ounce jars instead so I can share it around. Using pickling salt, such as Morton Canning & Pickling Salt, helps the liquid stay clear and keeps the cabbage from turning brown.
Shimbra Wat
This Ethiopian dish of chickpeas in a berbere-spiced, flaxseed-thickened sauce makes for a quick, filling, and wonderfully flavorful meal.
Grilled Cauliflower Wedges With Herb Tarator
Charring cauliflower on the grill turns the exterior crisp and golden, while the internal flesh becomes sweet and nutty. Cutting the head into wedges first maximizes the caramelized surface.
Strawberry Balsamic Shortcakes
This is cookbook author Jerrelle Guy’s tangy updo to the classic strawberry shortcake.
Vegan Corn Muffins With Whipped Sweet Corn
These tender, fluffy cornbread muffins skip the butter and call for creamy whipped corn instead. A side of homemade jalapeño pepper jelly adds some spice.
Apple and Kohlrabi Coleslaw
Since the crunchy apple and kohlrabi are so refreshing, it would make the perfect palate cleanser between heavier courses at dinner, but most often I eat it for a light lunch.
Ranch Fun Dip
Guaranteed to make any raw vegetable taste good, and it will last for weeks! The pistachios, nutritional yeast, and salt should be ground to the texture of coarse sand so the dip easily clings to the cut sides of the vegetables—just like, well, Fun Dip candy.