First Courses

Amazing first courses for every taste, from a little gem salad with lemon vinaigrette to fromage blanc custards with radish salad.

Start Slideshow

1 of 19

Little Gem Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Go to Recipe

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

2 of 19

Celery Root Soup with Clementine-Relish Toasts

Go to Recipe

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

3 of 19

Zucchini Carpaccio with Salt-Broiled Shrimp

Go to Recipe

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

4 of 19

Red Snapper Crudo with Watercress Pesto

Go to Recipe

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

5 of 19

Pickled Vegetable Salad with Soft-Boiled Eggs

Go to Recipe

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

6 of 19

Salmon Trout Tartare with Pressed Caviar and Tomatoes

Go to Recipe

Salmon trout has a mild, delicate taste, but regular salmon is also delicious in this bright-flavored tartare.

More Salmon Recipes

7 of 19

Scallops with Grapefruit-Onion Salad

Go to Recipe

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

8 of 19

Cherry Tomato Tart with Basil

Go to Recipe

Serve this brilliantly simple tart with a crisp white Burgundy.

More Tomato Recipes

9 of 19

Poached Shrimp, Melon and Frisée Salad

James Merrell

Go to Recipe

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

10 of 19

Tomato Aspic

Go to Recipe

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

11 of 19

Fromage Blanc Custards with Radish Salad

Go to Recipe

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

12 of 19

Asparagus with Scallops, Browned Butter and Prosciutto

Go to Recipe

This simple dish makes for a light but filling first course.

Recipes With Scallops

13 of 19

Butternut-Squash-and-Sage Wontons

Tina Rupp

Go to Recipe

"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

14 of 19

Pea Porridge with Fresh Cheese and Ham

Go to Recipe

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

15 of 19

Grilled Squid Salad with Celery Leaf Pesto

Go to Recipe

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

16 of 19

Green Tomatoes with Pistachio Relish

Go to Recipe

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

17 of 19

Salmon-and-Spinach Cakes

Go to Recipe

Pair these little cakes with a crisp, floral Indian Pale Ale (IPA): Elysian Avatar Jasmine.

Amazing Hors d'Oeuvres Recipes

18 of 19

Autumn Fritto Misto

Go to Recipe

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

19 of 19

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Go to Recipe

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

Replay gallery

Your Profile

First Courses

1 of 19

Little Gem Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

1 of 19

2 of 19

Celery Root Soup with Clementine-Relish Toasts

2 of 19

3 of 19

Zucchini Carpaccio with Salt-Broiled Shrimp

3 of 19

4 of 19

Red Snapper Crudo with Watercress Pesto

4 of 19

5 of 19

Pickled Vegetable Salad with Soft-Boiled Eggs

5 of 19

6 of 19

Salmon Trout Tartare with Pressed Caviar and Tomatoes

6 of 19

7 of 19

Scallops with Grapefruit-Onion Salad

7 of 19

8 of 19

Cherry Tomato Tart with Basil

8 of 19

9 of 19

Poached Shrimp, Melon and Frisée Salad

9 of 19

10 of 19

Tomato Aspic

10 of 19

11 of 19

Fromage Blanc Custards with Radish Salad

11 of 19

12 of 19

Asparagus with Scallops, Browned Butter and Prosciutto

12 of 19

13 of 19

Butternut-Squash-and-Sage Wontons

13 of 19

14 of 19

Pea Porridge with Fresh Cheese and Ham

14 of 19

15 of 19

Grilled Squid Salad with Celery Leaf Pesto

15 of 19

16 of 19

Green Tomatoes with Pistachio Relish

16 of 19

17 of 19

Salmon-and-Spinach Cakes

17 of 19

18 of 19

Autumn Fritto Misto

18 of 19

19 of 19

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

19 of 19

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Share the Gallery