Colored bell peppers give this salad a bright and dressy look. To make it more substantial, top with strips of grilled chicken or flank steak and serve with toasted pita wedges.
The classic succotash is made from corn and beans. In this summer garden version, fresh kernels are sauteed with green beans. You can also stir in diced bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cubed zucchini, or carrot slices. Freshly harvested red onions are wonderfully sweet and give this saute a perfect aromatic base.
Frequently, tomatoes and corn are teamed with basil, garlic and balsamic vinegar — as if it were somehow an Italian creation. Though it isn’t, it’s both gorgeous and delicious that way. If this kind of salad has any roots at all, they are Californian. Made as described above, it smacks of the Bay Area in the 1980s, when American ingredients were heralded but the cooking was most strongly influenced by classic French and 20th-century Italian.
A mixture of cooling yogurt, shredded cucumbers, and strips of tomato, raita is served with hot Indian curries, but goes well with summer grills.
This simple, fresh-tasting salad adds delicious variety to grilled foods, such as salmon, halibut, chicken or pork. Browning the corn in a skillet gives it a nutty, caramelized flavor that contrasts with the sweetness of the mango.
Our version of this provençal specialty is perfect for a lunch or light dinner. Add a crusty baguette and a glass of wine and you'll be instantly transported to the Cote d'Azure.
Treviso is a red, spear-shaped variety of radicchio. Combining it with prewashed baby greens makes a bowlful of holiday colors. Keep the cheese cold until grating so that it forms firm strips.
Noodles of all kinds are easy and beloved. But soba noodles, a staple of Japan, are special: they usually take no more than 3 to 4 minutes to cook and — because they’re made from buckwheat — have a slightly firm texture and a nutty flavor. Traditionally, soba are served hot and cold, making them a flexible partner for almost any fresh ingredients you have in the kitchen.
Flageolets, the quintessential French legume, are the young delicate seeds of haricot beans gathered and shelled while they’re a pale shade of ivory-green. In this dish, the dried beans are soaked overnight, then cooked and tossed with sweet red onion, dry-cured black olives, garlic, fresh herbs, olive oil, and white wine vinegar. (You can also use the quick-soak method given here.) Garnish the dish with roast tomatoes to add some flavor from the south of France.