Summer offers us a unique opportunity to enjoy the season’s harvest. Fresh fruits and vegetables abound throughout the summertime. Why not make use of nature’s gifts?

Our staff rounded up a few family and personal favorite recipes that taste like summer. Try one or try them all! We highly recommend enjoying any one of these delights under a shady umbrella, with a refreshing drink in hand.

From Hadis Ghoghaie Schertzer, RDN:

“Growing up in a Persian home, my mom would often make my sister and I Noon-o Panir-o Hendooneh – bread, cheese & watermelon. She would cut up some cold, crisp watermelon with a plate of soft feta cheese, toasted walnuts and fresh mint and a special Persian bread called Nan-e Barbari, a thick, chewy flatbread often topped with sesame or black caraway seeds.

This is a refreshing summer snack; it can even be made into a sandwich as a meal or deconstructed into a salad on a hot summer’s day!”

Noon-o Panir-O Hendooneh

Ingredients:

  • Fresh watermelon, cubed
  • Feta cheese, diced
  • Walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • Fresh mint, diced
  • Flatbread, sliced

Instructions:

  • Mix watermelon, feta, walnuts and mint in a bowl to combine.
  • Place mix onto warmed or room temperature flatbread slices.

From Alyssa Davis, MS, RD:

“Here is a recipe that I love to make during summertime! They’ve been a hit every time I’ve made them.”

Strawberry Lemonade Bars – Recipe originally found at Made to be a Momma

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt

For the Filling:

  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 8-10 strawberries
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup flour, plus 1 TBSP
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

  • Beat together sugar and butter until light and creamy.
  • Gradually beat in flour and salt until the mixture is crumbly.
  • Press mixture into a 9 in. x 13 in. pan and bake at 350 degrees for 17 minutes.
  • Place all filling ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
  • Pour into the hot crust when it’s finished baking.
  • Bake for an additional 25 minutes or until the middle is set.
  • Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar.
  • Serve warm or chill in refrigerator until later use.

From Fiona LaRosa-Waters, BS:

“One thing I cannot seem to do no matter how hard I try is bring myself to cook in the summertime – I won’t go near the oven or even the stove top most of the time. I do, however, love to grill. I’ve even been known to grill homemade pizza!

The trick to pizza on the grill is to cook your dough plain on one side until it is a light golden brown, flip it, then baste it with olive oil before adding your toppings and letting it finish on its own. One of my favorite recipes is a spin on sweet and savory with fresh summer ingredients that I first made a few years back and revisit every summer.”

Summer Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

  • Supermarket pizza dough
  • Garlic, thinly sliced
  • Olive oil
  • Tomatoes of your choice – fresh tomatoes or crushed, canned San Marzano tomatoes
  • Fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • Nectarines, sliced
  • Prosciutto, shredded or diced
  • Fresh basil, diced or torn
  • Beyond the dough, the ingredients are up to you! You can mix and match by making your pizza vegetarian, leaving off the fruit, or letting your local produce options guide you

Instructions:

  • Preheat the grill to 450 degrees.
  • While the grill preheats, roll out the pizza dough into a shape that fits your grill, typically rectangular or a small circle.
  • Place the plain dough straight on the grill and let cook until it turns a light golden brown along the edges and the bottom of the dough.
  • Flip the dough, then baste it gently with olive oil.
  • Place your toppings on the pizza and allow the ingredients to cook until your cheese is bubbling and the outer edges of the crust are well browned or blackened.

How do you savor the flavors of summer? What’s your favorite summertime recipe?