As summer winds to a close, it’s time to make full use of the last of the season’s bounty and get ready to move on to autumn’s bounty. We’ve collected our favorite late summer appetizer recipes for you to check out.
Tomato season is one of our favorite times of year. When fresh tomatoes start to fade away at the end of the summer, we rush to eat as many as we can before they’re gone. We use them in salads with baby arugula and fried pizza dough, tarts with anchovies, and salmorejo, a chilled Spanish soup that is a richer cousin to gazpacho.
Eggplant starts to come into season in late summer. We love to throw them onto the grill, either to dress with a basil vinaigrette or to make melintzanosalata, a Greek dip of charred eggplant, olive oil, and parsley. Eggplant is also delicious pan-fried and served with briny capers, floral basil, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction.
Our season squash tart with puff pastry and goat cheese has the ability to evolve with the seasons. If fresh summer squash and zucchini are available then use them, but come fall butternut squash is fantastic as well.
Find all of these dishes and more in our collection of late summer appetizers.
Salting and draining fresh tomatoes before baking ensures a crisp, flaky crust in this savory tart recipe from the Dominican sisters of Heartland Farm in Pawnee Rock, Kansas. Cut the final product into thin wedges to serve as an appetizer or snack.
For this Mumbai street-food snack from Raghavan Iyer, chunks of potato are dredged in a light chickpea-and-rice-flour batter that is spiced with turmeric and chile powder. The potatoes are then deep fried until a golden crust forms and served with cilantro and tamarind chutneys. The spiced batter can be also used for other vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli florets, sliced plantain, and eggplant.
There’s a reason this recipe is a classic party appetizer: crowned with jam and wrapped in puff pastry, a wheel of brie turns into a gooey, irresistible treat that’s great eaten with crackers or toast. Get the recipe for Baked Brie with Raspberry Jam »
Associate test kitchen director Farideh Sadeghin relied on this elegant appetizer often when she worked as a private chef—it’s tasty, quick to prepare, and simple to plate. For best results, use the freshest tuna you can find. Get the recipe »
The substitution of almond flour for conventional wheat flour in this recipe originated as a gluten-free workaround, but because almond meal absorbs moisture without becoming starchy, it provides structure while keeping the cakes moister and more tender than a traditional crab cake.
Fragrant herbs and anchovies underscore the bright sweetness and acidity of ripe cherry tomatoes in this eye-catching tart from Tuscany—cut into small squares, it makes an elegant appetizer.
