Sear Those Ribs and Chill That Fruit: Here’s What You Should Be Cooking in June

The feta melts into the juices of the blistered cherry tomatoes and olive oil after browning and melting in the oven, and the lemony tangy bite you commonly find in feta makes this dish less rich than most cheese-based pastas, meaning you can eat even more. And who doesn’t love seconds?

Usually battered and fried, chiles rellenos are grilled here instead. Stephanie Spencer, a former Sunset Test Kitchen manager, uses bread crumbs to deliver crunch (rather than a fried coating) and throws in spicy chorizo to bump up the flavor.

If you think of ravioli as a stick-to-your-ribs sort of dish, this summertime version will be a revelation–served in a light broth with fresh seasonal vegetables.

During the summer, peppers and tomatoes are abundant at farmstands and markets up and down the coast. This shakshuka combines peak-season produce with fragrant smoked paprika and bacon.

One of our favorite grilling techniques is to use a cast-iron skillet, a method we borrowed from Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way. It’s ideal for charring cherry tomatoes, since it keeps them from falling through the grate. If you have the real estate on your grill, you can do steps 2 and 3 at the same time.

Chef Gabriela Cámara says of her recipe from her cookbook My Mexico City Kitchen: Recipes and Convictions, “This is a super-simple salad, made to show off the season’s freshest asparagus and either zucchini or yellow squash (or both) that are young and tender enough to be enjoyed raw.”

This tangy, exuberant salad comes together quickly, considering the size of the recipe (and it can easily be halved or even quartered, in direct proportion). And it’s even quicker if you do it with friends, so the recipe is written with that in mind.

This raw salad shows off the beauty of a mix of squashes. Investing a little time to salt them, which pulls out moisture, ensures that the dressing doesn’t get watered down. If you have zucchini blossoms, tear a few into strips and add them as well.

This herb vinaigrette-dressed pasta salad keeps better than a mayo-based one from the deli—and tastes better too.

Sweet, crunchy, and fresh, this dish is summer in a bowl. It’s also hardy enough to travel well without wilting or turning to pulp.

A truly satisfying flavor trio. In summer, this sandwich is great with thick slices of fresh tomato instead of the roasted red peppers.

This recipe was originally created for camping. Any dish meant to travel in a backpack will do fine on a short trip to the park. The recipe comes from the outdoor cooking experts behind the blog Dirty Gourmet.

Instead of soaking the chicken in a saltwater mixture to add flavor and juiciness, this grilled chicken recipe is brined in a mixture of buttermilk, shallots, and spices.

Layers of creamy cheese and roasted vegetables in a pastry make this pie a home run. For a vegetarian version, see the tip after step 6.

Picnic tips: To keep the filo crisp, wait until it’s completely cool before covering it with foil and packing in your cooler. Be sure to pack a sharp knife and a pie server.

Chris Schaefer started with her grandmother’s handwritten brownie recipe, then added caramels. We couldn’t decide which we liked better, the crunchy outside pieces or the gooey inside ones. Leftovers are unlikely, but you can store the brownies airtight up to 1 day.

This is just as refreshing as the usual melon wedges, without the sticky fingers. Orange-flower water adds a hint of the exotic. If you’re making it for a picnic, tote the purée in a clamp-top bottle, and don’t forget ice for glasses.

Assistant Editor Magdalena O’Neal says: “My first Goldburger was gone in a matter of minutes and definitely did not last the car ride home. Even though I am not a fan of sauce on my burgers–besides ketchup, burgers need ketchup–the garlic mustard aioli perfectly complemented the burger’s crispy edges and crunchy pickles.”

Pile up your favorite veggie burger patties with lots of vegetables, homemade hummus and slaw, and tuck the works into lettuce “buns.” Use extra hummus as a dip for vegetables or as a sandwich spread.

Nopales pads are ideal for this citrusy salad because they can be grilled, but you can also use pieces and sauté them.

Sweet corn only gets better smeared with an easy, flavorful topping. Each makes enough for 4 ears of corn.

Chef Christian Graves, from Jsix Restaurant in San Diego, loves how well the grilled flavor of the mussels pairs with the coolness of the cucumber and the spicy hit of the chiles. He prefers ‘Corno di Toro’ chiles for his recipe, but you can also use Fresnos.

The black pepper in this rub picks up on the black-pepper notes in Zinfandel. The fruitiness of the wine and its juicy character cool the heat. Prep and Cook Time: about 2 hours. Notes: You can coat the ribs with the herb rub and wrap in foil up to a day ahead of time; chill, then bring to room temperature before grilling.

Crisp-edged bacon, starchy potatoes, and juicy onions together make an unbeatable side for just about any summer dish. The recipe, by Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton of Ox restaurant in Portland, is adapted from their book Around the Fire with Stacy Adimando. You’ll need 6 flat metal skewers, each 14 in., or a dozen 7-in. skewers.

Morgan Robinson, chef-owner of Smoke Open Fire catering company in Napa, creates lavish Argentinean-style asados (barbecues), often in the middle of vineyards. Unexpected and satisfying with a briny bite, this egg dish riffs on a recipe from one of those feasts.

This vanilla mousse, with ribbons of tart-sweet boysenberry sauce, has a delicate, cloudlike texture. If you’re substituting raspberries and blackberries, start with more berries for the sauce, as they’re not as juicy as boysenberries.

In summer it seems that every creek bottom and hillside in the West is covered with brambles of blackberries, fat and gleaming in the sun. A simple sherbet is just the thing for bringing their special, dusky sweetness to the table.

Featuring fresh, summertime watermelon, the only other ingredients you need to complete this simple and stunning dessert are sugar, limes, and watermelon.

Yes, these are a lot more work than unwrapping a store-bought Choco Taco, but every bite will make you want to dance with joy. You’ll need a hardback book with a 1-in.-wide spine to shape the warm cookies into shells. The shells are best when the weather is dry (humidity softens them).

French bakery tarts, only with ice cream instead of custard! If you want to make one big pie, use a 9-in. cheesecake pan.