Cooking

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad With Roasted Mushrooms & Wheat Berries

Serves 4 to 6

This winter salad is inspired by a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully’s cookbook, “Nopi” (Ten Speed, $40). Rather than use vinegar, verjus — the pressed juice of unripened grapes — lends the vinaigrette a mellow and tangy complexity.

• ½ cup wheat berries

• Kosher salt as needed

• 8 ounces mushrooms, such as oyster, trumpet or pioppini (or a mix), cleaned, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

• ½ cup sliced shallots

• Olive oil as needed

• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

• ¾ cup verjus

• 2 teaspoons maple syrup

Vegan Spicy California Bowl

Serves 4

This all-in-one meal takes its inspiration from that Japanese American restaurant staple, the California roll. The centerpiece of this vegan version is a faux “crab” salad made with sliced hearts of palm and radish.

Faux “crab” salad

• 1 14-ounce can of hearts of palm, drained

• 4 or 5 radishes, thinly sliced into matchsticks, about ½ cup

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

• 1 tablespoon minced scallions

• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

• 2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise, plus more for spicy Sriracha mayonnaise garnish

• Lemon juice to taste

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Corn, Basque Pepper & Feta Flatbread

Makes 2 flatbreads

Nothing says summer more than fresh corn on the cob. Kernels sautéed with onion and sweet green Basque peppers make for a delicious side dish on its own, but the succotash is even better when used as a topping for flatbread.

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1/2 cup chopped red onion

• 1/2 pound chopped Basque fryer peppers (or shishito or padron peppers)

• Kernels from 2 ears fresh corn

• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 pound thawed and proofed ready-made pizza dough

• 2 generous handfuls crumbled feta cheese

• Chopped cilantro to garnish

Watermelon Steaks With Mint Gremolata

Serves 4

Using a vacuum seal to compress the watermelon results in a slightly more dense and meatlike texture. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can still sear the watermelon steaks, although the texture will not be as dense.

• 1 small seedless watermelon, about 7 pounds

• Smoked sea salt as needed

• Freshly ground black pepper as needed

• ½ cup mint leaves, loosely packed

• ½ cup parsley leaves, loosely packed

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• Zest from 1 lemon, plus juice to taste

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches With Finger Lime Aioli

Serves 2 to 4

The addition of the caviar-like finger lime pearls to these open-faced smoked salmon sandwiches adds a burst of citrus flavor with each bite.

Finger Lime Aioli

• 1 garlic clove

• Pinch of sea salt, plus more to taste

• 1 large egg

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 5 ounces finger limes, halved and pearls removed (you should have about 1/3 cup of the pearls), divided

• Freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste

Smoked Fish Chowder With Horseradish & Dill

Serves 4 to 6

Instead of fresh seafood, smoked fish imparts the delicately creamy broth with a lovely smoky flavor in this twist on a classic fish chowder.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 4 strips bacon, chopped

• 1¼ cups diced leeks, white and light green parts only

• ½ cup diced fennel

• ½ cup diced red bell pepperKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 bay leaf

• ¼ cup dry white wine

• 1 pound red potatoes, sliced about ¼-inch thick

• 6 cups fish stock

• ¼ cup creme fraiche

Butternut Squash Crostini With Goat Cheese & Fried Sage

Serves 8 to 10

This easy appetizer can be fully assembled ahead for a more formal affair. For something more casual, set out all the elements on a buffet table and have guests put together the crostini themselves.

Crostini

• 1 sweet French baguette, sliced ¼-inch thick into about 30 slices

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• Kosher salt to taste

• 1 large clove garlic, halved

Topping

• 1 cup olive oil

• 30 sage leaves, cleaned and stemmed

• Kosher salt to taste

• ½ cup diced onion

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 4 cups medium-diced butternut squash

Quick-Brined Pork Chop With Tangy Mustard-Spiked Apple Sauce

Serves 4

There’s nothing more comforting than a slice of that most American of desserts, apple pie. However, I’m more partial to using apples in savory applications, like this tangy apple sauce, which is spectacular alongside a juicy pork chop.

Pork

• 1/2 cup kosher salt

• 4 smashed garlic cloves

• 1 teaspoons whole peppercorns

• 1 bay leave

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes

• 4 bone-in pork chops

Apple sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more as needed

• 1 cup diced onion

• 6 cups diced, skin-on apples