Preparation
Incredible meals can come together in minutes when fresh, colorful ingredients saturate the market. Blitz a chilled soup, grill a steak salad, or toss pasta with tomatoes that won’t spend a second inside of a pot. With these effortless recipes, you can eat like you’re on vacation every day.
Rev up soup and sandwiches for a summer dinner with this silky smooth dairy-free creation. Blend, chill, then enjoy with a platter of jammy soft-boiled eggs, sliced ham, and crostini.
Get the Chilled Avocado-Cucumber Soup with Crostini Recipe
Put this sandwich together in the morning and leave it to press under the weight of your trusty cast iron skillet. You’ll be amazed at how pressing helps the flavors of olive tapenade, provolone, mozzarella, roasted peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, spicy salami, and baby arugula combine in this hearty dinner sandwich. A quick turn on grill will melt the cheese, then cut the sandwich into portions for serving.
Get the Easy Italian Pressed Sandwiches Recipe
This Spanish-inflected rendition of steamed mussels will transport you to distant ports. Start by crisping up chorizo—just a bit provides an incredible smoky punch—then toss in some shallot, garlic, and white wine. Add cherry tomatoes for sweetness and beans for texture (they’ll thicken the broth and absorb all the flavors, too), throw in the mollusks, and cover. Half a glass of vino later, you’ll have dinner—and next to no cleanup.
Get the Drunken Mussels with Chorizo and White Beans Recipe
We’re not claiming this is a no-cook meal, but rather that it keeps cooking to a minimum because the sauce doesn’t require any heat. Put the sauce together and leave it to let the flavors mingle. Then cook the pasta when it’s time to eat.
Get the No-Cook Tomato-Tuna Sauce with Spaghetti Recipe
Get fresh with the white fish fillets. Use cod or halibut for this baked fish dinner that’s packed with summer flavor thanks to sliced zucchini, yellow summer squash, and tomatoes.
Get the Baked Fish with Summer Squash Recipe
To bring your favorite barbecue joint home, grill boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and in the last minutes of cooking, brush on a five-ingredient sauce (the base is ketchup, and pimentón supplies depth). Cut up the meat, and pile it on buns with a cabbage slaw mixed with celery seed, mayo, and vinegar. The result is sweet, salty, crunchy, and creamy—umami achieved.
Get the Barbecued Chicken Sandwich Recipe
Some dishes are so adjustable, they’re more a concept than a recipe. Exhibit A: Our grilled-steak salad. The trick is to drizzle on a little vinaigrette when it comes off the heat, giving the meat a savory brightness. You’ll grill corn and onion at the same time, because why not? You’ve already got the fire going, and the smokiness is delightful. Layer them with crunchy romaine, tomatoes, bell pepper, or anything else that beckons at the farm stand.
Get the Grilled Skirt Steak Salad Recipe
Recipes and food styling by Shira Bocar; Prop styling by Suzie Meyers.
