The days are still warm enough to make every weekend feel like vacation — even if school has already started — and these dishes lean into these waning days of summer. The truth is, end-of-season produce sometimes needs a little boost. Even though corn, zucchini and peaches remain abundant, they may not be quite as sweet or juicy as their July counterparts. Creamy spreads and sauces and other rich ingredients (yes, butter) bring out the best in them.
The recipes here are as good on their own as they are with grilled chicken, steaks or vegetable mains. Whether you’re hosting a barbecue, packing a picnic or simply cooking for yourself at home, you’ll want these fresh dishes to lean on in the next few weeks.
Charcoal-Grilled Corn With Honeyed Goat Cheese
Charcoal-grilled corn with honeyed goat cheese. You can make the spread ahead of time and simply slather it all over the ears when they come off the fire. Food styled by Cyd Raftus McDowell. (Kerri Brewer/The New York Times)
By Jerrelle Guy
The taste and appearance of corn grilled directly over a charcoal flame is unparalleled. The kernels become bright yellow, firm and plump, both smoky and sweet, speckled black, with bits of char. To make them even more stunning, the ears are coated with a sweet, tangy goat cheese spread that melts into every crevice, a fun, welcome alternative to simply basting cobs with butter.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 55 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 (4-ounce) log plain creamy goat cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons honey, depending of the sweetness of your corn
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 small limes
4 ears of corn, silk and husks removed
4 basil leaves, chopped or torn
DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare the coals of a charcoal grill. (Alternatively, you can use a gas or electric grill set to the highest temperature.)
2. As the grill heats, in a small bowl, smash the goat cheese into a paste with the back of a fork. Add the butter, honey and harissa, and whisk until smooth.
3. Using a rasp grater (such as a Microplane), zest the limes and add to the mixture. Cut the limes into halves or wedges, and pile them on a large serving platter, along with the bowl of goat cheese spread. Set aside.
4. Once most of the coals are covered in ash and the fire has subsided (or once your gas or electric grill is at temperature), add the shucked corn, completely dry, over the grates, directly above the heat. Cover the grill to trap the heat and smoke while making sure there is still airflow, and cook the corn, turning the cobs over every few minutes so they cook evenly, until the kernels go from a pale to vibrant yellow and char nicely in spots, 8 to 12 minutes.
5. Remove the cobs from the heat while the kernels are still plump and juicy, being sure not to overcook, and arrange them on the serving platter. While corn is still warm, use a pastry brush to brush liberally with the goat cheese mixture. Squeeze the lime wedges all over the corn to cut through the sweetness, and sprinkle over the basil before serving.
Cherry Tomato Labneh Dip
Cherry tomato labneh dip. Savory sweet and creamy, this stunning dip pairs the juicy intensity of slow-cooked cherry tomatoes with tangy labneh, plain yogurt so thoroughly drained and strained that it borders on cheese. Food styled by Samantha Seneviratne. (Julia Gartland/The New York Times)
By Ham El-Waylly
Labneh makes the ultimate dip for any season or occasion. Labneh topped with chunks of roasted squash and fried pumpkin seeds can keep the winter blues away. Labneh topped with finely minced shallots, chives and caviar is posh enough to anoint any New Year’s table. But only one garnish deserves the labneh throne all summer long: bright cherry tomatoes simmered in olive oil — with whole garlic cloves — until plumped, slumped and soft enough to burst. It is the perfect combination of creamy, savory and sweet. Serve alongside warm, fluffy pita, crusty bread, or ice cold crudités when battling a scorcher of a summer. The leftover olive oil is a bonus ingredient that can be used to dress salads, cook vegetables or finish a pot of beans or pasta.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces cherry tomatoes
8 garlic cloves, peeled
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces labneh
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Flaky salt
Pita, crusty bread or crudités, for serving
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat your oven to 325 degrees. Combine the cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, oregano sprigs, salt and olive oil in a small, oven-safe lidded pot. Place the pot over medium heat and cook until the oil bubbles, about 1 minute. When it does, turn off the heat, cover tightly with a lid and transfer to the oven.
2. Let the mixture cook for 30 minutes. The tomatoes should be mostly whole and on the brink of bursting, and the garlic should smush when pressed. Remove and discard the thyme and oregano sprigs.
3. Put the labneh in the middle of a serving bowl. Using the back of a spoon, spread the labneh to fill the bowl evenly, then create a divot in the middle. Using a slotted spoon, place the tomatoes and garlic in the center of the divot and season with red pepper and flaky salt. Drizzle some of the fragrant oil on top, then reserve (and refrigerate) any remaining oil to dress salads, pasta, beans, vegetables or save for another use. (Strained and refrigerated in a covered container, the seasoned olive oil will keep for one week.)
Zucchini-Peach Salad With Creamy Lime Dressing
Zucchini-peach salad with creamy lime dressing. Late-summer peaches bring sweetness, and dill offers a surprising freshness. Food styled by Samantha Seneviratne. (Julia Gartland/The New York Times)
By Ham El-Waylly
Raw zucchini deserves to be a summer salad staple. With just time and salt, sliced zucchini softens into tender bites that absorb any dressing that graces them. This easy salad pairs thinly sliced zucchini coins with sweet, juicy, ripe peaches in a loose, creamy, lime-forward dressing. It’s a full-on journey, in just a mouthful.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS
2 medium green zucchini, thinly sliced on a bias
3 ripe yellow peaches, cut into 1/2-inch wedges or chunks
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 limes, zested and juiced
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
Extra-virgin olive oil
Flaky salt
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, toss together the zucchini, peaches and salt; let sit for 10 minutes to soften.
2. Add the lime zest, then halve the limes and squeeze in 3/4 of the lime juice; toss to combine and let sit for 5 minutes more.
3. Add the sour cream and half of the dill and stir until the sour cream is fully incorporated into the lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more lime as needed.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the rest of the dill, a drizzle of olive oil and flaky salt.
Prosciutto and Melon Salad
By Ali Slagle
On a hot, sticky summer day, this colorful, no-cook salad of prosciutto, melon, mozzarella and arugula belongs at the center of your table. Eating salty prosciutto with sweet melon is so classic, the combination of cured meats and fruit dates back to ancient Rome. Wrapping slivers of melon in prosciutto is still a go-to antipasto throughout Italy, but this rendition adds peppery arugula and creamy mozzarella to make it more of a salad. Make it a meal alongside braised beans and focaccia, or whatever’s coming off the grill.
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1/2 lemon
3 cups bite-size pieces of cantaloupe, honeydew and/or another melon (about 1/2 small melon)
5 ounces arugula
15 small basil leaves
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 ounces small mozzarella balls, halved and at room temperature (or use fresh mozzarella torn into bite-size pieces)
8 slices prosciutto (3 ounces), cut in half
DIRECTIONS
1. Finely grate the zest of the lemon half over the melon pieces.
2. Place the arugula and basil in a large bowl or on a large platter. Season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Squeeze the lemon over. Toss gently with your hands until coated. Place the melon, mozzarella and prosciutto on top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Taste. If the salad is too sharp, add another drop of oil. If the salad is dull, add a sprinkle of salt. Serve right away.
Butter Cake With Peaches
Butter cake with peaches. Fanning slices of fruit over a one-bowl batter makes this easy dessert from Samantha Seneviratne look and feel fancy. Food styled by Samantha Seneviratne. (Johnny Miller/The New York Times)
By Samantha Seneviratne
Fluffy, soft butter cake and fresh peaches are a match made in heaven. This butter cake is made using the reverse-creaming method (the dry ingredients are coated in fat before the wet ingredients are added), which makes for a supertender, melt-in-your-mouth cake. While you can use fresh or frozen peaches in this recipe, it would be best to save the juiciest in-season fruit for eating out of hand, as overly ripe fruit could make the cake soggy. Baking the medium-ripe peaches, artfully nestled in a buttery bed, brings out their natural sweetness and transforms even less-than-perfect fruit into something special.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Total time: 1 1/2 hours
INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups/283 grams butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
3 cups/384 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 3/4 cups/352 grams granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup/240 grams plain whole-milk yogurt (not Greek), at room temperature
4 medium-ripe peaches, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch wedges
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the butter and beat with an electric mixer on medium until all the dry ingredients are coated in butter and the mixture looks like coarse sand, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the eggs and beat until well-combined, about 1 minute. Add the yogurt and beat on high until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add half of the peaches and gently mix them into the batter.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Top with the remaining peaches and sprinkle the top evenly with sugar.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 50 to 65 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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