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5 favorite dishes for summer-into-fall

Shrimp Sauté with Texas Vegetables celebrates late-summer flavors.

By Leslie Brenner

Oh, happy day — we’re out of triple digit-weather in North Texas, where I live. It’s not a moment too soon, as it’s such a delicious season produce-wise. All the corn and tomatoes and zucchini and eggplant, with incredible flavor bursting every-which-way — it’s enough to make a person pull out the knife sharpener, dust off the stove, polish the pepper grinder and get chopping.

Here are a few dishes I’m loving this summer-into-fall moment:

Shrimp Sauté with Texas Vegetables

To celebrate these flavors a few nights ago, I put together a quick sauté of shrimp and late-summer Texas vegetables. It’s inspired by two dishes: one I grew up with, Rosa de la Garza’s Texas Chicken, and a dish I love from Adán Medrano’s Don’t Count the Tortillas: The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking, Camarón con Fideos de Calabacita. The resulting easy sauté is pictured up top. If you believe what we read about the health benefits of eating things of many hues, you’ll certainly feel great about this. The taste benefits? Take a bite, and you’ll see.

RECIPE: Shrimp Sauté with Texas Vegetables

Roasted Ratatouille

Have you ever made (or even tasted) a great ratatouille? I thought not. Last year, I cracked the code of how to make one — and it’s easier than the normal way. Pro tip: This approach involves letting your oven concentrate the flavors and safeguard the textures.

RECIPE: Roasted Ratatouille

Ottolenghi’s Stuffed Zucchini with Pine Nut Salsa

Anyone bored by zucchini will have a life-changing moment upon tasting this. It has been Cooks Without Border’s most popular recipe since we wrote about it two years ago.

RECIPE: Ottolenghi’s Stuffed Zucchini with Pine Nut Salsa

Chicken Musakhan

The national dish of Palestine is traditionally prepared during olive harvest season to celebrate the olive oil harvest. This version, from Ottolenghi’s partner Sami Tamimi’s 2020 cookbook Falastin (written with Cooks Without Borders’ friend Tara Wigley) is insanely delicious.

RECIPE: ‘Falastin’ Chicken Musakhan

José Andrés’ Corn on the Cob with Elote Slather

Not ready to turn on the stove or light your grill just yet? Here’s an outstanding dish you can achieve with just a quick pass in the microwave. It’s from superstar chef José Andrés’ Vegetables Unleashed.

RECIPE: José Andrés’ Corn on the Cob with Elote Slather


If you enjoyed this story, you might like:

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Cookbooks We Love: ‘Ottolenghi Simple’ is one of the most inspired — and inspiring — cookbooks in a decade

Exuberantly delicious and beautifully told, ‘Falastin’ is one of those life-changing cookbooks

For the best (and easiest!) ratatouille, capture the fabulous flavor of late summer by roasting those vegetables

This glorious plum-and-blackberry buckwheat tart is way easier than pie

Tomato love fest: Our favorite ways to celebrate ripe beauties at the height of their season


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