31 Recipes to Make in August

Greg DuPree

Make summer count with these fun, fresh recipes that utilize the best of August produce, from heirloom tomatoes to berries and stone fruits.

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Prickly Pear Paletas

Victor Protasio

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Justin Chapple’s ice pops are made with prickly pear, the fruit that grows on cactus plants. Just be careful when scraping off the thorns!

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Glazed Agrodolce Ribs

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Summer is for eating ribs, and these babies with balsamic barbecue sauce are sure to be your new favorite.

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Salt-Cured Sea Bass Tostadas (Callo de Lobina)

Victor Protasio

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Using a salt-and-ice brine here gives the sea bass a truly creamy texture reminiscent of scallops. It’s a technique that could work on all kinds of seafood.

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Raw Berry Tart with Coconut Cream

Joanna Van Mulder

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The secret ingredient in this beautiful berry tart? Dates! The sweet fruit holds the crust together and creates a pretty marbling effect.

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Kohlrabi, Fennel and Blueberry Salad

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Stephanie Izard uses blueberries to top this summery kohlrabi and fennel salad. The ingredients are tied together with a dressing made of condiments that might not ordinarily go together, like soy sauce and maple syrup, but work well in this dish.

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Orecchiette with Summer Squash, Mint and Goat Cheese

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While Jamie Bissonnette makes his own orecchiette, we recommend saving several steps and just buying a box.

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Heirloom Tomato and Eggplant Gratin

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For when you’re sick of caprese salads and eggplant parm, this elegant gratin is the perfect dish to try out.

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Peach Hand Pies

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Why make a peach pie when you can make peach hand pies? These babies are as fun to whip up as they are to eat.

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Crispy Fish Tacos

Cedric Angeles

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Rick Bayless frys white fish, like bass or cod, in a beer batter made with mustard, garlic, and oregano.

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Green Corn Soup

Con Poulos

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Spinach, jalapeños, and lime juice come together to compose this silky green soup topped with kernels of sautéed corn.

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Buttermilk Cake with Blackberries

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This cake just proves that buttermilk and blackberries were pretty much made to go together. Top with a dollop of homemade whipped cream for even more sweetness.

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Grilled-Vegetable Gazpacho

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Instead of the typical gazpacho made with raw tomatoes and onions, chef Kerry Simon grills his vegetables before transforming them into liquid form.

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Pork Satay

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Chef Bryant Ng’s addictive pork satay is marinated in lemongrass and coconut milk.

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Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette

Eva Kolenko

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Potlikker is the liquid that beans and greens leave behind after they’re cooked. Chef Joe Kindred uses the leftovers to create a vinaigrette for a summer bean salad.

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Giant Summer Tomato Tart

Christopher Testani

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We all look forward to summer tomatoes, and with this beautiful tart, you can make use of all the shapes, sizes, and colors.

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Blueberry Pie with Rye Crust

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Justin Chapple’s stunning blueberry pie is sure to make jaws drop. Dinner guests will never want a lattice-top pie again!

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Vanilla-Almond Ice Cream with Cherries and Pistachios

John Kernick

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No ice cream maker required for this nutty-meets-fruity custard-based dessert.

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Watermelon Sangria

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You can’t let August go by without eating fruity drinks outside somewhere, and Andrew Zimmerman’s watermelon sangria is the ultimate boozy treat.

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Coconut Chicken with Pickled Pepper Collards

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Marcus Samuelsson’s sweet coconut chicken has the perfect amount of tang when eaten together with the pickled pepper collards.

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Nectarine Pavlovas

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These fruit-forward desserts aren’t as complicated as they look, and they’re sure to impress dinner party guests.

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Plum Upside-Down Cake

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In this buttery upside-down cake, pastry chef Joanne Chang foregoes pineapples for juicy summer plums.

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Chilled Persian Yogurt Soup

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This traditional summer dish from chef Hoss Zaré is best served with grilled bread — perfect for dipping and dunking.

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Pecan-Honey Buns

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There’s no wrong time for breakfast pastries. Food stylist Susan Spungen’s recipe yields sticky, fluffy pecan buns that are impossible to resist.

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Corn-Studded Corn Muffins with Honey Mascarpone

Nicole Franzen

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These corn-centric muffins make the most of summer produce and are a unique item to bring to any summer picnic.

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Tomatoes with Herbs and Almond Vinaigrette

JOHN KERNICK

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This isn’t just any tomato salad. This is a tomato salad by chef Dan Kluger, owner of Loring Place in New York City, who is known for his incredibly flavorful vegetable dishes.

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Yelapa-Style Banana Pie (Pay de Plátano de Yelapa)

Victor Protasio

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This tropical pie from Javier Cabral and Paola Briseño González in Yelapa, a small beach town a 45-minute water taxi ride from Puerto Vallarta, features caramelized bananas and vanilla custard. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds.

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Watermelon Steaks with Warm Pickled Shrimp

Victor Protasio

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Grilling watermelon gives it a pleasantly smoky flavor and a glistening surface that’s reminiscent of tuna steaks. Here, F&W’s Justin Chapple tops slabs of the sweet-smoky fruit with warm pickled shrimp, onion, and jalapeño. Fresh parsley finishes off this summery main dish.

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Corn Husk–Grilled Goat Cheese with Corn Relish and Honey

Victor Protasio

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With the smoky essence of the husk infused into the hot molten cheese, a generous drizzle of honey melting in, and that charred sweet corn relish, all spooned onto a hunk of crusty bread, plus a bottle of pink bubbly (high in acid to stand up to the tartness of the dish), a patio, and a pile of friends, this recipe is the perfect pre-dinner snack on a summer evening.

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Cacio e Pepe Broccolini with Crispy White Beans and Burrata

Victor Protasio

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This Cacio e Pepe Broccolini with Crispy White Beans and Burrata captures the rich, elegant, simple flavors of the classic Italian pasta and rounds them out with bitter charred Broccolini and crispy, creamy, flash-fried white beans. It’s a hearty and healthy late-summer meal

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Bacony Fingerling Potato and Spring Onion Salad

Con Poulos

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Bacon fat is used to season the potatoes and dressing for a thoroughly rich and smoky salad. The small potatoes and onions char quickly while retaining their moisture, contributing a delicious texture to the dish. Cook the bacon and potatoes ahead of time for a salad that’s easy to assemble by the grill.

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Roasted Curry Tomato Pie

Greg DuPree

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Turmeric gives the rustic crust of this tomato pie a glorious golden glow, but the real star (other than the ripe summer tomatoes) are the sweet and tangy tamarind onions, which complement the spiced, cheesy filling beautifully.

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31 Recipes to Make in August

1 of 31

Prickly Pear Paletas

1 of 31

2 of 31

Glazed Agrodolce Ribs

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3 of 31

Salt-Cured Sea Bass Tostadas (Callo de Lobina)

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Raw Berry Tart with Coconut Cream

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Kohlrabi, Fennel and Blueberry Salad

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Orecchiette with Summer Squash, Mint and Goat Cheese

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Heirloom Tomato and Eggplant Gratin

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Peach Hand Pies

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Crispy Fish Tacos

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Green Corn Soup

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Buttermilk Cake with Blackberries

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Grilled-Vegetable Gazpacho

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Pork Satay

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Summer Bean Salad with Potlikker Vinaigrette

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Giant Summer Tomato Tart

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Blueberry Pie with Rye Crust

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Vanilla-Almond Ice Cream with Cherries and Pistachios

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Watermelon Sangria

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Coconut Chicken with Pickled Pepper Collards

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Nectarine Pavlovas

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Plum Upside-Down Cake

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Chilled Persian Yogurt Soup

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Pecan-Honey Buns

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Corn-Studded Corn Muffins with Honey Mascarpone

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Tomatoes with Herbs and Almond Vinaigrette

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Yelapa-Style Banana Pie (Pay de Plátano de Yelapa)

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