Recipes Appetizers First Courses By Food & Wine Editors Updated on March 8, 2017 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: © Frances Janisch Amazing first courses for every taste, from a little gem salad with lemon vinaigrette to fromage blanc custards with radish salad. 01 of 19 Little Gem Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette © Sara Remington Nancy Silverton's lovely salad, adapted from her Mozza Cookbook, features Little Gem lettuce, a smaller, sweeter variety of romaine. If you can't find it, use hearts of romaine instead. More Green Salad Recipes Go to Recipe 02 of 19 Celery Root Soup with Clementine-Relish Toasts © Tina Rupp Americans Braden Perkins and Laura Adrian have turned Hidden Kitchen, their Paris supper club, into a tiny (and still underground) restaurant with the same name. The lovely seasonal menu includes this silky soup. More Soup Recipes and Tips Go to Recipe 03 of 19 Zucchini Carpaccio with Salt-Broiled Shrimp In this clever recipe, Jason Stratton of Seattle's Spinasse makes a simple, creamy sauce by simmering toasted pine nuts with lemon zest and chicken stock, then pureeing them. His other smart trick: cooking shrimp on a superhot bed of coarse salt flavored with bay leaves and lemon zest. More Shrimp Recipes Go to Recipe 04 of 19 Red Snapper Crudo with Watercress Pesto © Lucy Schaeffer At La Buca restaurant in Cesenatico on the Adriatic coast, Matt Molina and his crew tried slivers of raw orata, a meaty local white fish, embellished simply with agretti pesto. Since orata is harder to find in the U.S., this recipe calls for red snapper. More Healthy Fish Recipes Go to Recipe 05 of 19 Pickled Vegetable Salad with Soft-Boiled Eggs This elegant, crunchy salad includes vitamin-and-mineral-packed beets, turnips and fennel, plus protein-rich eggs. Barbara Lynch tosses the shaved vegetables with vinegar and olive oil until they're slightly pickled. Vegetable Recipes and Tips Go to Recipe 06 of 19 Salmon Trout Tartare with Pressed Caviar and Tomatoes Salmon trout has a mild, delicate taste, but regular salmon is also delicious in this bright-flavored tartare. More Salmon Recipes Go to Recipe 07 of 19 Scallops with Grapefruit-Onion Salad Jarred pickled onions are usually relegated to cocktails, but Melissa Rubel Jacobson's simple recipe combines them with scallops and ruby red grapefruit to create a deceptively complex-tasting dish. More Scallop Recipes Go to Recipe 08 of 19 Cherry Tomato Tart with Basil © Tina Rupp Serve this brilliantly simple tart with a crisp white Burgundy. More Tomato Recipes Go to Recipe 09 of 19 Poached Shrimp, Melon and Frisée Salad © James Merrell To make the dressing for this pretty salad, Daniel Humm takes the zesty poaching liquid for shrimp—flavored with coriander seeds, garlic, peppercorns and orange zest—and reduces it. The salad is wonderful as both a first course or a light main course. More Delicious Shrimp Recipes Go to Recipe 10 of 19 Tomato Aspic Chilled jellied salads were popular on hot days in "60s-era Mississippi, and they were often a centerpiece at ladies" luncheons. This tomato aspic is like a wobbly take on a Virgin Mary. More Tomato Recipes Go to Recipe 11 of 19 Fromage Blanc Custards with Radish Salad © Kate Mathis Chef Ludo Lefebvre adores radishes, and he's always looking for new ways to feature them. Here, he turns them into a colorful, spicy salad, served on top of a divine custard that's really a savory panna cotta. More Top Chef Dishes Go to Recipe 12 of 19 Asparagus with Scallops, Browned Butter and Prosciutto This simple dish makes for a light but filling first course. Recipes With Scallops Go to Recipe 13 of 19 Butternut-Squash-and-Sage Wontons © Tina Rupp "Wonton wrappers are terrific for making ravioli when you don't have time to make homemade pasta," says Jill Donenfeld. The wontons here, filled with mashed butternut squash and roasted garlic, get nicely crispy when sautéed in a touch of oil, but they're also delicious simply steamed. More Great Asian Recipes Go to Recipe 14 of 19 Pea Porridge with Fresh Cheese and Ham © Anna Williams Chefs Bowman Brown and Viet Pham of Salt Lake City's Forage make this creamy, tangy porridge from sweet peas and yogurt. More Recipes With Peas Go to Recipe 15 of 19 Grilled Squid Salad with Celery Leaf Pesto © John Kernick Kelly's inspiration for this salad is a dish she ate in Santa Margherita, on the Ligurian Coast of Italy. It includes butter beans; they're a terrific source of potassium, iron, copper and manganese and rich in soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol. More Tasty Squid Recipes Go to Recipe 16 of 19 Green Tomatoes with Pistachio Relish Relishes typically contain cooked and pickled vegetables; the one here is mouth-tinglingly tangy. James Syhabout of Oakland, California's Commis makes it by pickling shallots, capers, pistachios and pink peppercorns overnight in Champagne vinegar and olive oil. It's awesome on tomatoes, but he also likes using it on fish. More Tomato Recipes Go to Recipe 17 of 19 Salmon-and-Spinach Cakes Pair these little cakes with a crisp, floral Indian Pale Ale (IPA): Elysian Avatar Jasmine. Amazing Hors d'Oeuvres Recipes Go to Recipe 18 of 19 Autumn Fritto Misto © John Kernick Antonio Ciminelli prepares this starter year-round with whatever produce is in season. In the fall, that means apples, mushrooms and late-harvest zucchini, fried in a batter made extra-light and crisp by adding sparkling wine and whipped egg white. The fritto misto is best eaten hot from the pan, perhaps served in a paper cone. More Fried Foods Go to Recipe 19 of 19 Shrimp and Avocado Salad © Frances Janisch Traci Des Jardins created this refreshing salad to showcase one of her favorite Latin ingredients, the avocado. She tasted her first avocado during a visit to her Grandma Salazar in Mexico; she would snack on it at taco and fruit stands on the street, where it is typically served with fresh lime juice and chile salt. More Shrimp Recipes Go to Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit