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Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Kat Boytsova
It’s no secret that Bon Appétit editors cook a lot for work. So it should come as no surprise that we cook a lot during our off hours too. Here are the recipes we’re whipping up this month to get dinner on the table, entertain our friends, satisfy a sweet tooth, use up leftovers, and everything in between. For even more staff favorites, click here.
August 15
Refreshing zaru soba
“Do you gals want some refreshing cross-tested zaru soba?” From our deputy food editor Hana Asbrink, this is the sort of Slack message I dream of. I am a sucker for a cold noodle. Last summer I made test kitchen editor Kendra Vaculin’s Soy Milk Noodles With Chili Crisp dozens of times. And now I have Hana’s pristine soba to add to my rotation. If you have yet to cross paths with this classic Japanese dish, refreshing is an understatement. Slick buckwheat noodles, a few-ingredient ultra-umami broth on ice, and minimalist toppings (Hana opts for nori, scallion, wasabi, and grated daikon—I swapped in a red radish in a pinch). Heaven! I can’t imagine a better dinner on a humid day. —Emma Laperruque, associate director of cooking
Zaru Soba (Cold Buckwheat Noodles)
Grilled arayes
I’ve had my eyes on these grilled arayes ever since the recipe was published. Looking for any excuse to make them, I sent out a mass text to friends: “firing up the grill, bring whatever veg you want cooked” to accompany said meat pockets. I could not find a baharat blend at my local grocery store, so instead I combined black pepper, cardamom, paprika, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, and coriander—warming spices that immediately wafted through my kitchen. This got sprinkled into ground beef, shallots, and garlic, before I stuffed the mixture in pitas. Once they hit the grill, the arayes got crispy, yet maintained a juicy interior. I skipped the cucumber salad and instead made tzatziki for dipping, and filled my plate with grilled farmer’s market zucchini, purple-yellow ombré peppers, and sweet corn. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
Grilled Arayes With Creamy Cucumber Salad
Beginner-friendly bread
Emboldened by my successful run with homemade focaccia last month, I set out to make my first BA Bake Club recipe this week. As a jalapeño-cheese bagel enthusiast, senior test kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk’s latest beginner-friendly bread was calling my name. I used mild, smoky shishito peppers and sharp white cheddar as my mix-ins. The cheddar chunks condensed into melty bits of gold, creating extra air pockets in the dough that made for a light loaf. The few cheesy bits that stuck out of the dough before baking bubbled and crisped over, adding extra textural intrigue to the already crispy crust. —Arietta Hallock, editorial intern
No-Knead Cheddar-Jalapeño Loaf
Fresh tomato recipes
In my home, Tomato Week never really ended. And despite what may or may not be my developing allergy to nightshades, I’m still stocking my kitchen with summer tomatoes, tingling tongue be damned. Recently, I’ve been all about these creamy, garlicky Turkish-style eggs and tomatoes, and explosively tangy aguachile served over grilled fish. Eggplants may be lost to the allergy, but I’ll never give up tomatoes. —Joseph Hernandez, associate director of drinks & lifestyle
Turkish-Style Eggs and Tomatoes
Tomato Aguachile
Meal prep spicy grilled chicken
I’ve been very into grilling for meal prep on Sunday nights. It couldn’t be easier to throw a ton of veggies on the grill with some marinated chicken thighs and voila—we have dinner that night, plus lunch for the next few days. I had some leftover coconut milk in the fridge, so I made Spicy Coconut Grilled Chicken Thighs. What’s nice about this recipe is that you can marinate the chicken for just 15 minutes and it’ll still be packed with so much punchy flavor. Balanced perfectly with zucchini, graffiti eggplant, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers, this dinner (and the bonus lunches) could not be beat. —Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
Spicy Coconut Grilled Chicken Thighs
August 8
Two loaves of chocolate zucchini bread
My summer squash saga continued this week with another delivery of my neighbor’s CSA zucchini. Unsure of how to keep up, I grated and folded this haul into a double batch of senior test kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s Double-Chocolate Zucchini Bread. Walnuts are listed as optional in this recipe, but in my household, they’re mandatory. The extra step of toasting them took the nutty, subtly sweet flavor to another level. I generously sprinkled the loaves with demerara sugar before placing them in the oven, and each emerged with a crispy, crackly top to counter the soft interior. —Arietta Hallock, editorial intern
Double-Chocolate Zucchini Bread
A satisfying bean salad
I’m typically not a salad person; rather, I’m not a huge fan of lettuce-based salads. They leave me feeling unsatisfied, and don’t go limp in the fridge after they touch dressing. But when I saw this Chopped Southwest Black Bean Salad from Jenn Eats Goood, I knew I wanted to make it. Instead of lettuce, the recipe leans on veg that will sit well, even when dressed, in the fridge: purple cabbage, corn, and bell peppers. This means I can meal-prep and enjoy it for lunch all week long. I love to eat it with tortilla chips, which adds a salty, crunchy bite. —Urmila Ramakrishnan, associate director of social media
Tofu pudding for breakfast
In the Philippines you’ll hear the vendors long before you see them. “Ta-hooooo,” they bellow, as they traipse up the beach. Tucked into their tin pots is a slightly sweet tofu pudding that’s layered à la minute with sago boba and a brown sugar syrup. Though it’s typically thought of as a dessert or snack, I’ve been making a version of it for breakfast all summer long. I borrowed the method from cookbook author Arlyn Osborne’s Sugarcane and it couldn’t be easier: blend silken tofu with sugar and vanilla extract until smooth. Cook black pearl tapioca according to the package directions and prep whatever fruit you want to have with it. I’ve used sour cherries, peaches, and most recently a mix of the juiciest blackberries, white raspberries, and nectaries. I’ve also flavored the pudding with ube and pandan extracts, as well as citrus zest. The base will keep for several days in the fridge, so you can build a glass each morning just how you like. —Joe Sevier, senior editor, cooking and SEO
Iced strawberry matcha
After years and years of coffee, I’m newly exploring the vast world of matcha. No, I’m not switching over completely—I’m still loyal to espresso—but I’ve started reading up on ways to enjoy the pleasantly grassy powdered green tea. My latest obsession is this Iced Strawberry Matcha from Bon Appétit alum Zaynab Issa. You blend freeze-dried strawberries with sugar, water, vanilla, and salt, for a concentrated, syrupy sauce. Layered with frothed milky, matcha, and a few glittering ice cubes, it’s just as striking as it is tasty. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
One-and-done salmon
The moment I saw this recipe drop last September, I knew I had to add it to my cooking wishlist (I mean, look at that photo!). I gravitate toward salmon as a weeknight protein. I’m always looking for novel ways to cook with it to shake up my “toss on a sheet pan”-routine. This one offered up an intriguing method: Poach the fish in a fragrant liquid perfumed by garlic, ginger, soy sauce, butter, and sesame oil. Halved tomatoes burst in the saucy mixture as the fish gently cooks. It’s just about as one-and-done as a recipe gets, but no less complex in flavor. —Li Goldstein, associate newsletter editor
One-Pan Salmon With Burst Tomatoes
August 1
Crispy gnocchi for a crowd
One of my favorite moves in the kitchen is crisping up shelf-stable gnocchi and serving it in a simple sauce, like in this Crispy Gnocchi With Sausage and Peas or this sheet-pan style one. This weekend, on side dish duty for family dinner with my girlfriend’s parents, I made the bright and acidic Crispy Gnocchi Caprese from Alexis deBoschnek’s latest cookbook, Nights and Weekends. The dish had a pleasant heat from the jarred roasted peppers, which complemented the fresh mozzarella and packed delicious summer flavor into every bite. —Alma Avalle, editorial operations associate
Crispy Gnocchi Caprese
Audibly crisp zucchini fries
Zucchini is everywhere right now. I’ve put pounds of it in pasta and baked a chocolate-zucchini bread, but the recipe I keep coming back to is this one for zucchini fries by my colleague, Nina Moskowitz. Nina recently added instructions to cook them in an air fryer and praise be—it’s more hands-off than the original shallow-fry but still audibly crisp. Finely grated Parmesan is used in the breading and as the fries cook, the cheese melts and binds with the breadcrumbs to form a sturdy jacket around the squash. I usually forgo the yogurt dip (sorry, Nina! it’s not you, it’s me) because really, I’m just here for the zucchini. —Shilpa Uskokovic, senior test kitchen editor
Crispy Zucchini Fries With Herby Yogurt Dip
Restaurant-worthy Sun Gold pasta
Few ingredients get me as excited as Sun Gold tomatoes. They’re sweet enough to eat by the handful, but this week I opted instead to use them in senior test kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk’s Sun Gold Tomato Pasta With Pistachio Gremolata (featured in our Tomato Week). The yellow sauce is seasoned with sliced garlic, and the finished dish is topped with a striking pistachio gremolata. It hits all the flavor and textural notes I dream about in restaurant-caliber pasta: creamy, crunchy, acidic, bright, and deeply savory. And if you happen to have a few tomatoes left over, treat yourself to Jesse’s Tomato Martini. —Carly Westerfield, associate manager audience strategy
Sun Gold Tomato Pasta With Pistachio Gremolata
Toaster oven pierogies and beets
When I’m craving comfort food during the swampiest days of summer, I turn to low-cook meals like senior test kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s Sheet-Pan Pierogies and Beets. (Is there anything as soothing as a mashed-potato-stuffed pocket of dough? I think not.) The recipe comes together with two store-bought standbys: frozen cheddar and potato pierogies and tender, precooked beets. They both pick up color and a crisp-chewy texture cooking on the same sheet pan. Then you whisk together a simple poppy seed and mustard dressing and swoosh some sour cream on your plate before assembling. This past week I used my toaster oven to avoid turning on the big oven and was rewarded with salty golden carbs paired with a real vegetable and an elevated sauce, all without breaking a sweat. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
Sheet-Pan Pierogies and Beets
Summery lemon-marinated zucchini
My neighbor’s CSA subscription box has been extra generous this season. So much so that she’s been leaving brown paper bags of excess produce at our door. This week’s offering was a bounty of yellow zucchini—more than enough to make this Lemony Zucchini With Sour Cream and Dill. The citrus-marinated pan-seared squash was crispy, not soggy, atop a bed of cooling garlicky sour cream. Sprinkled generously with fresh dill, it was the very image of summer. —Arietta Hallock, editorial intern
Lemony Zucchini With Sour Cream and Dill
Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit
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