Eat By Color: Red Foods

By Food & Wine
Updated May 05, 2017
Credit: Lucy Schaeffer
From a strawberry-almond smoothie to a spiced-rhubarb soup with vanilla ice cream, these dishes celebrate the color red.
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Crisp Polenta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Credit: © John Kernick
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Like many red fruits and vegetables, the juicy roasted cherry tomatoes topping the polenta contain lycopene, which protects against cancer and heart disease.

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2 of 9

Roasted Red Pepper Involtini

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Elena Boroli, who co-owns the Locanda del Pilone farmhouse inn and restaurant in Piedmont, says bell peppers are the best symbol of Piedmontese cucina povera (peasant food). This simple recipe for involtini (little Italian rolls) is all about the deeply flavored, slow-roasted red bell peppers, which get wrapped around fresh ricotta cheese and plum tomatoes.

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Brioche French Toast with Fresh Berry Compote

Credit: © Quentin Bacon
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BLD Restaurant's pastry chef, Mariah Swan, bakes buttery brioche for this crisp French toast, which she tops with a warm berry compote. The compote comes together in less than 10 minutes but tastes surprisingly complex for something so quick.

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Strawberry-Almond Smoothie

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Although coconut water is low in sugar, it imparts a lovely sweetness to this dairy-free smoothie.

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Crespelle with Ricotta and Marinara

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In this recipe, adapted from Wine Bar Food by Tony Mantuano and his wife, Cathy, lush ricotta-filled crêpes bake in a rich marinara sauce.

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Seared Scallops

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Annabel Langbein loves oven-roasted peppers. Here she transforms them into a silky soup seasoned with cumin, crushed red pepper and cilantro, and finished with seared, sweet scallops.

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Giant Lima Beans with Stewed Tomatoes and Oregano Pesto

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Tangy feta cheese, a bright herbal pesto and a crisp bread crumb topping all elevate this tomato-bean stew. It’s sensational made with meaty Rancho Gordo giant limas from Peru, silky gigantes or large limas from the grocery store.

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Bacon and Tomato Salad

Credit: © Kristen Strecker
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This bold salad, from Laurent Tourondel (an F&W Best New Chef 1998), combines tomatoes and bacon with Cajun spices and curry powder.

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Spiced Rhubarb Soup with Vanilla Ice Cream

Credit: Lucy Schaeffer
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This silky fruit dessert is delicious on its own or topped with vanilla ice cream. Just be sure to only barely cook the rhubarb, so that it retains its crispness—and plenty of tangy flavor.

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