The Best Dishes Bon Appétit Staffers Cooked This Week

By The Bon Appétit Staff & Contributors

It’s no secret that BA editors cook a lot for work. So it should come as no surprise that we cook a lot during our off hours too. Here are the recipes we’re whipping up this month to get dinner on the table, entertain our friends, satisfy a sweet tooth, use up leftovers, and everything in between. For even more staff favorites, click here.

I believe we are still in the height of summer. You can find tomatoes in farmers market stalls and they are (by no exaggeration) the size of your head. When I saw the reel for Kendra Vaculin’s tomato salad topped with a seedy olive granola, I knew I wanted to make it. What I didn’t know is that I’d be hooked on savory granola—it’s a complete game changer. I’ve been trying different variations using everything bagel seasoning and pumpkin seeds; a version with tandoori masala and pistachios, green olives and garlic salt; and another with Lawry’s and homemade garam masala and nutritional yeast. All of them go great on tomatoes, but I’ve also used this crunchy combo to add texture to an egg sandwich, in yogurt for a savory parfait, and by the handful alongside cucumbers and carrots. —Urmila Ramakrishnan, associate director of social media

I love dishes where one component comes together while the other passively cooks on the stove, like Eric Kim’s Crispy Yangnyeom Chickpeas from his cookbook, Korean American. Aside from being knockout delicious, this dish is a cinch to throw together. The sweet-spicy yangnyeom sauce relies exclusively on pantry staples and is what you’d normally find slicked onto ultra-crispy Korean fried chicken. But as Kim makes a solid case for, it’s a condiment that works just as well over these crunchy, chewy beans. Whether served over rice or on their own, make sure you double the recipe; you’re gonna want leftovers. —Carly Westerfield, recipe production assistant

I nabbed some Sun Gold tomatoes at the farmers market and used them in this speedy, simple Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta by Molly Baz—but scaled down to serve one. Garlicky, saucy, and an enticing orange from the Sun Golds, I devoured it straight out of the pan. While sunsets are disconcertingly earlier and earlier in the evening on this side of August, this pasta, with plenty of fragrant basil tossed into the mix, was a tasty reminder that we’ve still got a few more weeks of warm weather to savor. —Antara Sinha, associate cooking editor

Whenever my friends are celebrating a birthday, my go-to gift is a custom cake. But when I asked my favorite yoga instructor what kind of cake he wanted for his upcoming birthday, he confessed that he’d always liked pie better. I was all too happy to have an excuse to bake this creamy, dreamy lemon cream pie (think Key lime pie, but more floral and less tart). Stick some candles into the lemony whipped topping and it’s the exact right dessert for a late-summer backyard birthday party. —Zoe Denenberg, associate cooking & SEO editor

In a perfect world, my clean laundry would never not be folded, and there would always be a batch of these Soy-Marinated Eggs in my fridge. From chef and author Sohui Kim, they are easy enough to make on a whim, and happy to hang out for days. You infuse soy sauce with chile and garlic, plus enough mirin and vinegar to wake everyone up. After soaking in this mixture, soft-boiled eggs become too-good-for-this-world, with an intense umami and custardy texture. I love adding them to rice and noodles, but you could also squeeze on some Kewpie and have yourself a mayon-egg. —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor

Three things I always have around: gin or vodka, dry vermouth, and pickles. Or in other words, the ingredient list for Alexis deBoschnek’s pickle martini. It’s my favorite riff because it’s no more effort than the classic yet it tastes shiny and new. The salty-cucumbery brine brightened all the botanicals in the gin, like a not-over-the-top photo filter. With a bag of potato chips, I cannot think of a better post-work wind down. Except maybe if I also had a bowl of Shilpa Uskokovic’s pickle dip. Next time. —EL

I was immediately curious about a trendy TikTok recipe that recently made its way to me. The idea is to fill a pitted date with peanut butter, then dip it in chocolate and freeze it. After watching the clip, I remembered that I had a container of staff writer Ali Francis’s homemade Magic Shell in my fridge—the perfect dip for these babies since the coconut oil makes the chocolate looser and glossier. I reached for the crunchy peanut butter and got to work. After freezing for an hour, the chocolate shell was just thin enough so as not to break a tooth, and the date became even chewier, mimicking the quality of nougat. Simply put: They were sublime. —Carly Westerfield, recipe production assistant

I won’t say I bought too many tomatoes at the farmers market this past weekend. But I will say I bought, um, a lot. Luckily, there are many recipes to turn to, more than even I could fit into a single summer. For lunch, I whipped up this tomato-egg stir-fry from culture editor Karen Yuan. It is quick enough to make in the middle of a workday and ginormously flavorful for such a little ingredient list. —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor

Emma has raved about this Lemony Zucchini With Sour Cream and Dill so many times, when I got my hands on some especially enticing farmers market zucchini, I was immediately compelled to give it a go. To make it a whole meal, I swapped in Greek yogurt for sour cream, and fried up some seedy bread in the garlicky, dilly dregs of olive oil left over from searing the squash. It was so fast, so easy, and so simple, I grabbed another few zucchini to make it again next week. —Antara Sinha, associate cooking editor

As a noted fan of chef Steven Satterfield, his Atlanta restaurant Miller Union, and his cookbooks—and an equally noted fan of tomato season—I bookmarked this tomato-peach juice from his most recent book, Vegetable Revelations, as soon as we hit publish on the recipe. It’s forgiving (I doubled the ginger and used lime juice instead of lemon), so refreshing, and a great way to use up produce that’s split or getting a little too mushy. —Sonia Chopra, executive editor

These marinated beans have been my back pocket formula for years. When it was published in 2017, I was a post-grad looking for cheap lunch options that I could meal-prep days in advance. These days, when I get home late, haven’t made it to the grocery store in a while, and need to make a dinner out of pantry staples, I rely on it just the same. Instead of white wine vinegar, I used some leftover pickled jalapeño brine that was languishing in the back of my fridge, and instead of cannellini beans, I swapped in black beans. I couldn’t have been happier ending my night by scooping it up with some sturdy tortilla chips while watching another Bob’s Burgers rerun—yet another obsession that hasn’t wavered since 2017. —A.S.

When I saw corn, corn, and more corn at the farmers market this weekend, I had one thought: Cold Noodles With Sichuan Peppercorn Dressing. They are spicy and slick, refreshing and hearty, everything I want on a humid night. In lieu of green beans, I swapped in steamed zucchini, a welcome sweet contrast to all the tingly peppercorns. But arguably the best part is the leftover dressing. The next night I put it on crispy tofu. And tomorrow I’ll put it toward those vegetable dumplings in my freezer. —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor

I had a breakfast burrito from Brooklyn’s Ursula Cafe on my birthday this year, and for weeks after, I found myself thinking about the tortilla. Don’t get me wrong, the fillings were amazing. But there is something so unforgettable about a good flour tortilla, which associate cooking editor Antara Sinha and I agree are often underrated compared to their corn-based counterparts. The craving inspired me to cook through this recipe from King Arthur Baking, which took barely half an hour, and I didn't need any special equipment. The result was a batch of dreamy, stretchy, chewy wraps that I filled with carne asada, rice, beans, and corn salsa that I froze and will be eating for weeks to come. Lucky me. —Alma Avalle, digital production associate

Of the many dishes I’ve cooked this summer (miso-brown-butter rice cakes, super-citrusy carne asada, creamy red curry pasta), the one recipe that stands out is perhaps the simplest: this classic chimichurri. I’ve made it just about once a week, smothering whatever herbs I have in the fridge (cilantro, parsley, dill) with olive oil and red wine vinegar. Consider it an all-purpose condiment to spoon over grilled steak, roasted chicken, seared scallops—just to name a few. At this point, I’ve memorized the recipe. —Zoe Denenberg, associate cooking & SEO editor

When I saw my friend (and esteemed cookbook author) Nik Sharma share his cardamom-saffron-peach cake recipe a few days ago, I knew I had to make it immediately. I had all the ingredients at home, and therefore had a cake in the oven 90-ish minutes after seeing the Instagram story. The result is a plush, peachy cake so fragrant that everyone who tried it commented on how well the floral cardamom (I used Burlap & Barrel) came through. Even if your peach slices were, uh, not as neat as they could have been, the end result looks lovely thanks to the jammy glaze. Great summer cake! —Sonia Chopra, executive editor

I’ve been fortunate to spend some time on Martha’s Vineyard this summer. With so many pie stands, each with its own measure of sweetness and uniquely textured pie crusts, I generally leave the baking to others. But lately I’ve been daydreaming of Samantha Seneviratne’s Blueberry and Peach Graham Galette. The graham crackers in the crust, toasty and crunchy, are the perfect foil to sweet summer fruit. This is a stunner, as pretty as it is good. —Dawn Davis, editor in chief

In a fit of uncharacteristic thinking ahead, I turned to my partner and said, “Let's make cauliflower tacos tomorrow night with that cauliflower in the fridge.” “Oh yeah, fun," he replied. I came home from work, and after nattering on about the day and exchanging gossip about the new grey cat spotted in our building’s courtyard, I asked, “Shall I warm the tortillas if the cauliflower is ready then?” And my generally extremely caring husband says, “I thought you said you wanted to make the filling and the tortillas.” No. No I did not want to make the filling and the tortillas. And this is where I sell you on this recipe and how lightning fast it is. Despite all our garbled communication, the two of us were eating tacos (and spying on Courtyard Cat) within the hour. The cauliflower was spicy, tender, and frizzled in spots. It was light but filling, and meat-free. Highly recommended. —Shilpa Uskokovic, food editor

When I’m too tired to make dinner, but still want a substantive, soul-warming meal, I turn to a jar of red curry paste. It’s a simple shortcut to weeknight soups, stir-fries, and yes, curries, but this new red curry pasta recipe from associate food editor Rachel Gurjar might be my favorite application to date. Slightly spicy from the curry paste and creamy from coconut milk, this dish tastes like a punched-up pasta alla vodka. I added broccoli, tofu, and crispy mushrooms (a.k.a. all the bits and bobs in my fridge) and will absolutely use this recipe as a formula for faster-than-fast dinners. —Zoe Denenberg, associate cooking & SEO editor

I’ve been traveling a ton and finally got to the farmers market this weekend for the first time in a while, which is to say: for the first time since the tomatoes got good. I’ve lived on tomato sandwiches and toasts since then, leaning especially hard on frying the bread in curry powder à la this recipe. But I also went too hard on stone fruit and have since spent every day trying to chip away at my stash (rough life). This fruit salad quickly became a way to zhuzh nectarines and plums into an appetizer or side salad rather than just a snack. The red wine vinegar dressing, heavy on the black pepper, balances the ripe fruitiness well. I added feta (inspired by this recipe) and couldn’t recommend it more. —Sonia Chopra, executive editor

This Creamy Zucchini Pasta is a favorite for our readers, and perhaps even more so for our staff. And now I get why. This time of year, when zucchini is in endless supply, it’s a highly doable way to turn a heavy market haul into a one-dish dinner. There’s enough roughage to skip a salad altogether, and the cream and parm keep the sauce from feeling too vegetal. I went with bucatini but next time I might rebel, just a little, and try rigatoni for pasta salad vibes. —Emma Laperruque, senior cooking editor

This lentil dish made a killer salad when served over greens and a filling next-day lunch when spooned over farro. It’s also infinitely riffable: Firm green lentils worked well for me instead of black, and I bet bell peppers would be a great swap for sweet peppers if that’s what you have at home. As always, I’m trying to limit dairy, so I cubed and roasted some tofu with more oregano and some chile flakes as a sub for the Halloumi (and then proceeded to steal at least two pieces of the salty, melty cheese from my husband’s bowl). Next time I make this I’ll skip the cheese (or not!) and serve as a side with salmon. I love a keeps-well-in-the-fridge lentil salad and I’m so glad to have added this one to my roster. —S.C.

There’s “easy,” and then there’s “so easy, it’s barely a recipe.” This four-ingredient Salmon Teriyaki falls firmly in the latter category. I had ambitiously set out some frozen salmon fillets to defrost earlier in the day. But by the time evening rolled around, I had lost all will to chop, dice, slice, or marinate. This speedy salmon (which required none of those steps), a pot of rice, and some quick-pickled cucumbers saved dinnertime when the only other conceivable option was chips and dip. —Antara Sinha, associate cooking editor