8 recipes that require minimal effort for the best kind of summer eating
It's the season of grilling and smart desserts


Easy dishes are the name of the summer game — spreads and dips that can serve myriad purposes, meats cooked over the grates of an outdoor grill, refreshing ice cream and fruit pie. And they can live in the fridge or freezer, ready for consumption at the snap of a finger.
Mutabal: Eggplant-Tahini Spread
In the States, this eggplant-tahini dip, mutabal, is usually called baba ghanoush. This recipe's creator, Reem Assil, says it's traditionally more of a citrus-y salad in the Arab world. This version is all sesame-seed richness and smoky eggplant char. "Most versions I taste today are too watered down and too garlicky," Assil said of the spread as it exists in America. Not this one, with its earthy cumin edge.
Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint
Jacques Pepin knows simple, focused cooking. His watermelon-feta salad has Kalamata olives, mint, feta and sweet onion to complement and contrast the juicy goodness of watermelon. The surprise element is a fillip of Tabasco in the vinaigrette.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Strawberry Ice Cream
Make custard, rich with egg yolks, whole milk and heavy cream. Macerate thin slices of strawberry with lemon juice and sugar. Add the syrupy strawberries to the chilled custard and whirr in an ice cream maker. Spoon yourself a bite. Roll your eyes into the back of your head in perfect ice cream delight.
The Best Easy Cherry Pie
Soggy crusts, weepy fillings, burnt edges: The woes of an imperfect fruit pie recipe are many. Not when pastry legend Stella Parks is guiding you through the correct ratio of cherry to sugar to thickener. Follow this easy recipe to the letter, and you're guaranteed textbook-optimal cherry pie.
Grilled Green Tomatoes with Burrata and Green Juice
Yes, there is titillating magic in a plate of fried green tomatoes. Grill them, though, and serve with charred bread chunks, a dressing of verdant juice and torn blobs of creamy, stretchy burrata and you realize that the sharp tang of the green tomato embodies a world of cooking possibility.
Lime Chicken Kebabs with Creamy Avocado Dip
Chicken and avocado get along famously. All the more so when cubes of chicken breast are marinated with Dijon mustard and lime juice, then threaded onto skewers, grill-kissed and served with a garlicky mayonnaise-avocado dip.
Fish Escabeche
Having a meal at the ready in the fridge is one of summer's greatest maneuvers. To make this zippy, satisfying Portuguese-style escabeche, fry fillets of fish, then douse the fillets with sautéed onions that have been hit with a bunch of white wine vinegar. Hearty and light, it's a life-saving meal in the dead of summer.
Pimiento Cheese with Salt-and-Pepper Butter Crackers
Pimento cheese is a wonder anytime of year when hosting guests. It hits different in summer, though, when people demand a fortifying nibble. This version of pimento cheese stars three cheeses: sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack and cream cheese, alongside the requisite roasted red bell pepper (pimento). Serve it with store-bought crackers or, if you're feeling wily, make the recipe's accompanying salt-and-pepper crackers from scratch.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Scott Hocker is an award-winning freelance writer and editor at The Week Digital. He has written food, travel, culture and lifestyle stories for local, national and international publications for more than 20 years. Scott also has more than 15 years of experience creating, implementing and managing content initiatives while working across departments to grow companies. His most recent editorial post was as editor-in-chief of Liquor.com. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Tasting Table and a senior editor at San Francisco magazine.
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floods
Cartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate change
In the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
Lemon and courgette carbonara recipe
The Week Recommends Zingy and fresh, this pasta is a summer treat
-
6 helpful (and way cute) phone accessories
The Week Recommends Answer the call of style
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
Summer in Seattle: Outdoor dining like nowhere else
Feature Featuring a patio with a waterfront view, a beer garden, and more
-
Snow what? 6 charming ski towns to visit during peak summer.
The Week Recommends No powder, no problem
-
An American girl takes on London, 'Bosch' gets another spinoff and Washington Black leaps from page to screen in July TV
the week recommends This month's new television releases include 'Too Much,' 'Ballard' and 'Washington Black'
-
5 dreamy books to dive into this July
The Week Recommends A 'politically charged' collection of essays, historical fiction goes sci-fi and more
-
Rustle up some fun at these Western hotels and dude ranches
The Week Recommends Six properties that are ready to rope you in