Melon & Cheese Summer Salad

BY: DEVONN FRANCIS

This recipe serves 4 - 6 people.

INGREDIENTS

1 small white onion, thinly sliced

½ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

¼ cup flame or red raisin, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, grated

Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)

2 teaspoon sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon of cracked black pepper

Kosher salt, to taste

½ honeydew melon, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch wedges

2 ounces tete de moine or your favorite semi-hard cow’s milk cheese, cut into shards

⅓ cup mint leaves

Flaky salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Submerge the onion in water and let sit for 5 minutes before draining. This will remove the sharpness of the onion. 

Add the walnuts, raisins, garlic, lime juice, sherry vinegar, olive oil, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt to taste into a large bowl.

Mix until well combined.

Add the melon and drained onions to the bowl and gently toss to combine. 

Transfer the melon mixture to a large serving plate and drizzle with any remaining vinaigrette.

Top with cheese, mint leaves, and flaky salt to serve.

Summer Pork Wonton Salad

BY: NATASHA PICKOWICZ

This recipe serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups Napa cabbage, finely chopped 

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided 

½ bunch cilantro, divided

1 bunch scallions, divided

1 cup Thai basil leaves, picked from the stem and divided

4 ounces ground pork

1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon ginger, finely minced

2 tablespoons chili crisp, divided

18-20 square wonton wrappers 

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil 

1 head little gem lettuce or similar, such as baby swiss chard, kale, escarole

1 head purple endive or similar, such as yellow endive, radicchio, or any chicory

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon black vinegar

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon soy sauce

DIRECTIONS

Massage the chopped cabbage with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a large bowl. Set aside to sweat while you prepare the rest of the filling. 

Finely chop half of the cilantro, including the stems; set the other half aside as the salad garnish. 

Slice the scallions in half crosswise, separating the greens from their whites. Finely chop the white bottoms; set aside the greens as the salad garnish.

Roughly chop half of the Thai basil leaves, reserving the rest for the salad garnish. 

Next, use your hands to squeeze any excess water from the cabbage, discarding the water.

To the big bowl, add the chopped cilantro, chopped scallion whites, chopped basil, ground pork, garlic, minced ginger, 1 tablespoon chili crisp, and the remaining ¾ teaspoon of kosher salt.

Mix everything together well, stirring vigorously with chopsticks for several minutes to create a smooth, bouncy filling.

When ready to shape the wontons, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a small bowl with water, and pull the wrappers from the refrigerator.

Add one tablespoon of filling in the center of one wrapper. Dip a fingertip into the water and run your finger around the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half diagonally, pressing the edges closed with your fingertips, forming a triangle.

Moisten the two points that form the line of the diagonal, then pull them together to touch. Pinch them together to seal, forming the wonton shape. 

Transfer the shaped wonton to the lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining filling. If making in advance, freeze the wontons on their baking sheet, about one hour, then transfer to an airtight container until ready to eat.

To cook the wontons, heat the oil in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. Add the wontons and fry them on their broad, wider side until sizzling and golden brown, about four minutes.

Add ¼ cup of water and cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and let steam until the dumplings are cooked through, another four minutes.

Remove the lid and let the remaining water evaporate, about two minutes more. 

While the wontons are cooking, make the vinaigrette. Whisk the remaining tablespoon of chili crisp with the black vinegar, oyster sauce, and soy sauce. Add in lemon juice and whisk to combine.

Arrange whole leaves of the little gems and chicories onto a wide platter.

Scatter the wontons all over, tucking them into the crevices of the greens. Spoon the vinaigrette all over.

Finally, tear the remaining herbs into bite-sized pieces and scatter them on top. 

Serve immediately.

Tomato and Snap Pea Salad

BY: PIERCE ABERNATHY

This recipe serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound snap peas, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces on the bias

1 pound ripe tomatoes of your choice, cut into wedges

½ cup olive oil

2 Meyer lemons

¼ cup Meyer lemon juice 

1 teaspoon white balsamic or white wine vinegar 

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar 

Mint, roughly torn, to serve

Urfa pepper, to serve 

DIRECTIONS

Add the snap peas and tomatoes to a medium bowl. 

Add the olive oil, the zest of 1 lemon, ¼ cup of lemon juice from both lemons, vinegar, salt, and sugar to a glass measuring cup and whisk to combine. 

Add the vinaigrette to the snap peas and tomatoes and toss to combine.

Garnish with torn mint and Urfa pepper and serve immediately. 

Battered Cutlets with Sungolds and Olives

BY: COLU HENRY

This recipe serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 1½ pounds 

Kosher salt, to taste

3 large eggs

⅓ cup grated Pecorino

¼ cup finely chopped parsley 

Flour, for dredging 

Olive oil, for frying 

For the tomato salsa:

2 pints sungold or other small pretty tomato varieties, halved 

1 cup Castelvetrano olives, crushed with the back of a knife, pits removed and discarded 

1 small red onion, thinly sliced 

¼ cup parsley leaves picked 

¼ cup olive oil 

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, plus more to taste

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Flaky salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

With a sharp knife, butterfly the chicken lengthwise so you have four pieces total.

Place a piece of parchment or plastic over the top of the chicken and pound with a mallet or a rolling pin, until they are about ¼ inch thick.

Season with salt. 

In a wide shallow bowl, whisk together the egg, Pecorino, and parsley, and season lightly with salt and black pepper.

Add flour to another wide shallow bowl. 

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, and add a few big glugs of olive oil, it should be about ⅛ inch thick as you’re shallow frying.

Test to make sure the olive oil is hot enough by adding a few pinches of flour – when they sizzle, you’re ready.

Working one at a time, dredge the cutlet in the flour, shaking any excess flour off. Then, dip the cutlet into the egg and cheese mixture, and add to the pan (away from you!).

You should be able to get two in the pan at once. Cook until the outside is golden and the chicken is cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Repeat with remaining two cutlets.

Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with flaky salt.

Meanwhile, make your salsa: in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, onion and parsley leaves. Stir in the olive oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Taste and adjust with more vinegar and salt as needed. 

Transfer the cutlets to a large platter and spoon the salsa over top. Finish with a few pinches of flaky salt, and serve immediately.

Apricot Frangipane Galette

BY: ALEXIS DEBOSCHNEK

This recipe serves 8 people.

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

¼ to ½ cup ice water

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon water

½ cup blanched slivered almonds

Filling:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup almond meal

⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 apricots, cut into eighths 

DIRECTIONS

Make the dough: in the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse 3 times to combine. 

Add the cubed butter and pulse until the butter is the size of lima beans. 

With the food processor on, slowly add the ice water until the dough just holds together. You will have leftover ice water. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and use your hands to form the dough into a 5x5-inch disk.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 3 days).

Make the frangipane: in a medium bowl, add the butter, almond meal, and ⅔ cup sugar. Use a hand mixer to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

Add the egg, flour, vanilla, and salt, and beat once more until just combined.

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. 

Roll the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface until ¼-inch thick, and at least 14x14 inches.

Transfer the dough to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Spread the frangipane in a 12-inch circle on dough.

Press the apricots directly into the frangipane and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. 

Fold the dough over the edge of the apricots. 

In a bowl, whisk the egg and water. Brush the egg wash over the galette crust and sprinkle the edge with the almond slices.

Sprinkle the crust with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar. 

Bake until the frangipane is set and the crust is golden brown, about 50 minutes.

Let the galette rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving.