Summer

With only a handful of ingredients, this Tuscan peasant soup is deceptively simple, but tastes so rich and decadent, you’d swear there was cream in it. Heads up: blending the soup with olive oil is an important step to produce its velvety texture. The bread becomes suspended—almost like a custard—in the silky tomatoes; the basil adds a subtle perfume. Paired with nutty, gooey-smooth Fontina cheese sandwiches, this comfort food classic pushes all the right buttons.

Luscious, juicy, and fragrant, apricots are one of the first signs of summer. The bright orange fruit is delicately sweet with a subtle tartness. Enjoy fresh apricots while you can—the season is short. Peaches make a fine substitute, however. This simple jam is made without messing with pectin and the list of ingredients couldn’t be shorter. These crostini are truly the perfect bite: the toast is crunchy, the fresh ricotta creamy, and the apricots luscious and bright.

Both the vinegar and peppers (together or separately) can serve as a condiment for soups like the Red Lentil (page 191), for braised greens and stewed meat, or as a bright winter substitute for dried chiles.

These were introduced to the Lantern kitchen by Fuchsia Dunlop’s exhilarating book Land of Plenty: A Treasury of Authentic Sichuan Cooking. The surprisingly simple method lets you carry the heat and spice of late summer long into the winter months, such as in Roast Moulard Duck with Kumquats (page 214). Pureed along with cider vinegar, garlic, and a little sugar, salt-cured chiles become a vibrant hot sauce for raw oysters (page 188) or rice and beans.

When red bell peppers are best (and least expensive) in the late summer and early fall, this is a good dish to make in a big batch.

This is a good idea for an abundance of tomatoes that are threatening to rot. The juice keeps refrigerated for several days and can be frozen for up to 6 months.

My mom makes these delicious baked tomatoes as an entrée in a vegetable-plate dinner or as a side dish for grilled meat. Make a double batch of the seasoned crumbs, if you’d like; they freeze very well and can be used with equally good results on many summer vegetables.

This keeps for several weeks in the fridge and is good with spiced basmati rice, grilled chicken or lamb, or a creamy corn stew.

Steaming eggplant gives it a suave, custardy texture that helps it resist soaking up too much oil, setting it up for this rich dressing. I like Anaheim chile flakes here, which are milder than the standard-issue chile flakes. They provide sweet pepper flavor without too much heat.