Appetizers Recipes
Starters and appetizer recipes to kick off any meal, from elegant bites to crowd-pleasing party snacks.
Chewy Sweet Corn & Cotija Mochiko Fritters
Imagine Mexican street corn (elote) and a Japanese savory pancake had a beautifully chewy, crispy baby. By binding fresh sweet summer corn and salty cotija cheese with glutinous rice flour, we get an ultra-crispy, pan-fried exterior with a bouncy, mochi-like center that's perfect for a summer izakaya night.
Broiled Black Mission Figs with Melted Camembert & Meyer Lemon Honey
When the late afternoon sun dips low and you've just poured a chilled, skin-contact Chenin Blanc, you need a snack that takes exactly zero effort. We are halving jammy black mission figs, topping them with earthy Camembert, and broiling until completely melted and blistering. A drizzle of Meyer lemon-spiked honey and a crunch of pistachios finishes the trick—it's a perfect California-meets-Paris apéro bite.
"Cheat Code" Jalapeño Popper French Bread Fingers
Friday night movie snacks need to be heavily flavored, easy to eat in the dark, and ready before the opening credits finish. We are taking all the aggressively cheesy, smoky, spicy flavors of a jalapeño popper and slathering them onto a store-bought French loaf. By swapping raw bacon for the real crumbled bacon in a pouch, we skip the grease splatters entirely. It's crispy, gooey, and unapologetically wonderful.
Heirloom Tomato & Sharp Dijon Tart
The quintessential French café lunch, stripped of fuss but completely uncompromising on texture. A shatteringly crisp, blind-baked butter crust acts as a waterproof shield for sharp Dijon, nutty Comté, and heavy summer tomatoes. We aggressively salt the fruit and bake the pastry dark—because nobody wants a soggy, tight crumb.
Cast-Iron Blistered Urfa Cherries over Tahini-Swirled Labneh
Sweet summer fruit absolutely belongs in the savory mezze spread. By tossing fresh sweet cherries into a screaming hot cast-iron skillet, we collapse their skins and concentrate their juices, creating an aggressively charred, jammy bite. Hit with smoky Urfa biber and tart pomegranate molasses, they are spooned blistering hot over a cool, thick bed of tahini-whipped labneh. The temperature and texture contrasts here are everything.
Hamachi & Watermelon Aguachile with Yuzu-Serrano Broth
I've eaten my weight in acid-cured seafood from Lima to Ensenada, and nothing beats the immediacy of a Mexican aguachile. Here, we're crossing the fierce, bright heat of Sinaloa with Japanese precision—using sweet summer watermelon and aromatic yuzu to cure buttery yellowtail just minutes before eating.
Fire-Scorched Watermelon & Torn Halloumi with Lime-Sumac Tahini
Listen to me: I know scorching watermelon sounds like a crime against a hot summer day. But when you hit thick, juicy wedges with screaming high heat, the sugars caramelize, the texture turns surprisingly meaty, and a subtle smokiness develops that is absolutely intoxicating. Paired with the salty squeak of aggressively charred halloumi, a sharp lime-sumac tahini, and a mountain of fresh mint, this is a mezze snack that will completely change how you look at summer fruit.
Sheet-Pan "Cheat Code" Pulled Pork & Brie Bites
Hosting during the holidays shouldn't mean you're trapped in the kitchen while everyone else is drinking your wine. These one-pan bites look ridiculously elegant but rely on my favorite cheat codes: store-bought mini phyllo shells and pre-cooked pulled pork. With a quick jalapeño-cranberry topping, you get sweet, spicy, smoky, and creamy in one perfect, stress-free bite.
Chilled Cantaloupe & Lillet Velouté with Lime-Whipped Crème Fraîche
In southern France, it is almost a religion to start a summer meal with chilled melon and Port. But out here in California, I find Port a bit heavy for a 90-degree July afternoon, so I created this sun-drenched alternative. It is a ridiculously refreshing, icy purée of sweet melon and cucumber, brightened with lime and spiked with floral Lillet Blanc.
Coconut-Lime Halibut Kinilaw with Charred Jalapeño Oil
This cooling summer lunch is where Filipino kinilaw meets Japanese curing techniques and Mexican heat. By quick-curing the halibut and buffering our acid with rich coconut milk, we get a melt-in-your-mouth raw fish dish that refuses to turn chalky.
Fire-Collapsed Eggplant with Sizzling Pistachio-Lentil Crunch & Amba Tahini
Whenever someone asks me how to make eggplant taste good, I tell them to show it no mercy. We are going to literally burn these eggplants over an open flame until they collapse, leaving us with a smoky, buttery center. Layered over ice-whipped amba tahini and drowned in a sizzling pistachio and lentil crunch, this is the ultimate Tel Aviv mezze snack. The contrast of the cold, creamy tahini, the warm, smoky eggplant, and the aggressive crunch of the fried lentils is exactly why I cook.
Moules au Pastis with Melted Fennel & Bright Citrus
There is a very specific kind of magic that happens when you slowly melt fennel and shallots in good butter, then hit the pan with a splash of anise-scented Pastis. In this coastal bistro classic, I skip the heavy cream and finish the golden broth with bright Meyer lemon and fresh tarragon. Grab an absurdly large piece of grilled sourdough—you are going to want to soak up every last drop of this California sunshine.
Southern Heirloom Tomato & Caramelized Vidalia Tart
My grandmother made a tomato pie that tasted like pure summer, but the bottom crust was always a little... forgiving. This tart is my answer to that Southern staple. We're using fine-dining pastry techniques to blind bake a black pepper buttermilk crust that stays perfectly crisp, then layering it with fish-sauce-caramelized Vidalia onions, sharp cheddar, and July's finest heirlooms.
Aji Amarillo & Shio Koji Chicken Breast Yakitori
Chicken breast gets a bad rap on the grill, but Japanese fermentation science completely changes the game. By curing lean protein with umami-rich shio koji and the sunny, fruity heat of Peruvian aji amarillo, we lock in moisture and flavor before hitting the high heat. This is Tokyo-meets-Lima street food for your backyard.
Charred Zucchini & Olive Cake Salé
A proper French cake salé—savory loaf cake—is the ultimate summer picnic flex. It travels without a fuss, slices like a dream, and demands zero refrigeration. We sear cubed zucchini hard and fast to lock out moisture, ensuring a lacy, tender crumb that won't turn tight like a bad alibi. Paired with briny olives and sharp Gruyère, this is how you win lunch.
Fire-Grilled Lamb & Pistachio Arayes with Whipped Sumac Feta and Shaved Fennel Salad
Arayes are the ultimate Tel Aviv street food—pita bread stuffed with heavily spiced meat and grilled until the bread is shatteringly crisp and soaked in lamb fat. I usually drench everything in tahini, but today we're dragging these crispy wedges through a cloud of whipped sumac feta to cut the richness. Piled high with an emerald dill and pomegranate salad, this is a loud, vibrant feast of a dinner.
Charred Peach & Shaved Country Ham Tartines with Whipped Buttermilk Ricotta
When I was a boy in Atlanta, granddaddy would slice salt-cured ham right off the bone, and we'd eat it alongside fresh, juice-down-your-chin summer peaches. This lunch tartine elevates that raw childhood memory into something elegant. The salty, deeply savory country ham meets the caramelized sweetness of charred peaches, balanced by tangy whipped ricotta and a kiss of chili-spiked sorghum.
Cast-Iron Pressed Maitake with Umeboshi-Ancho "Chamoy"
If you've never pressed a mushroom under a heavy iron skillet, your life is about to change. We're using high heat to violently expel water, collapsing the cellular structure to create a meaty, impossibly crispy center piece. Basted in a sticky, sweet-sour-spicy glaze that connects the dots between Japanese pickled plums and Mexican chamoy, this is the ultimate elevated izakaya snack.
Sun-Drenched Heirloom Tomato & White Nectarine Tart
Listen, I adore a classic French tomato tart, but when June hits California and the heirlooms are so heavy and ripe they feel like water balloons, it’s a crime to bake them into mush. This is my cheat code for the ultimate patio picnic: a perfectly blind-baked buttery crust holding a briny green olive tapenade, topped with thickly sliced, entirely raw heirlooms and sweet nectarines. It tastes exactly like the sun.
Charred Red Pepper & Manchego Rough-Puff Slab
This is the weekend café lunch you usually pay fourteen euros for, built right on your sheet pan. We pair smoky, high-heat blistered red peppers with the salty, sheepy bite of aged Manchego, all riding on a ridiculously flaky, lamination-lite rough puff. Butter is not a garnish here—it’s the architecture.
Fire-Scorched Prawns with Urfa-Pomegranate Glaze over Velvet Green Tahini
Friday sundown in Tel Aviv means a table laden with mezze, drinks flowing, and the smell of smoke in the air. These prawns are an absolute flavor bomb—charred at blistering heat to lock in a sweet-sour pomegranate molasses glaze, then laid over a fluffy, herbaceous cloud of ice-whipped green tahini. The preserved lemon and pistachio crunch on top is non-negotiable; it brings every texture on the plate to life.
The Aubergine Pergola: Grilled Eggplant with Melted Taleggio and Vermouth-Sage Onions
June in Milan brings the golden hour of the apericena—a beautiful, lazy bridge between evening cocktails and supper. I designed this dish for exactly those warm Friday evenings when you want maximum elegance with minimal effort. Thick, load-bearing planks of grilled eggplant serve as the structural foundation for earthy, melting Taleggio, crowned with a quick vermouth and sage glaze.
One-Bowl Cherry Tomato & Gruyère Slab Clafoutis
A traditional clafoutis is dessert; a savory one is a midday savior. By baking this rich, custardy batter in a shallow sheet pan, we maximize the lacy, caramelized Gruyère edges while the center stays silky. Sweet cherry tomatoes blister whole in the high heat, turning into jammy pockets of flavor. One bowl, no pastry rolling, zero compromise.
The Lombardy Fresco: Whipped Ricotta with Blistered Tomatoes and Cannellini
Like the first layer of plaster on a grand Milanese fresco, a lush foundation of whipped ricotta provides the perfect canvas for this effortless weeknight dinner. We let the ingredients do the heavy lifting by assembling warm, blistered tomatoes and creamy cannellini beans over the cool cheese, finishing with a Piedmontese signature of sage brown butter. It is an architectural marvel of contrasting temperatures and textures that comes together in mere minutes, proving that an elegant evening meal requires only a solid foundation.
Fire-Torn Halloumi & Scorched Apricots with Harissa-Honey & Velvet Tahini
When a summer heatwave hits, we don't cook heavy meals—we graze aggressively. This is the ultimate snacking centerpiece. We're tearing the halloumi instead of slicing it so the jagged edges catch the heat and turn into a crispy, golden armor. Paired with violently scorched summer apricots, a slick of ice-whipped tahini, and a fiery harissa-honey drizzle, this plate is a masterclass in texture and temperature contrast.
Izakaya-Style Charred Octopus Esquites
I love the late-night street food energy of both Tokyo and Mexico City, so I smashed them together. We're taking tender octopus, giving it a blistering hard sear, and tossing it with charred sweet corn, shio koji mayo, and togarashi. It's smoky, sweet, briny, and the ultimate umami bomb to pair with an ice-cold beer.
Mezcal & Hibiscus Cured Salmon Tiradito with Aji Amarillo-Yuzu Emulsion
Sashimi and ceviche share the same DNA, but tiradito is where they truly meet and fall in love. Here, I take fatty sushi-grade salmon and give it a 45-minute quick-cure in smoky mezcal, dried hibiscus, and shio koji. The result is a visually stunning, incredibly fudgy piece of fish swimming in a bright, fiery aji amarillo-yuzu emulsion.
Quick-Seared Scallops with Tomatillo-Kombu Broth & Crispy Sushi Rice
I love playing with the sharp, green bite of raw tomatillos and lime. Here, that classic Mexican acid profile collides with the deep umami of cold kombu dashi and white miso to create a vibrant, cooling broth. We're floating screaming-hot, unilateral-seared scallops over crispy sushi rice cakes—a study in temperature, texture, and cross-cultural flavor DNA.
Cast-Iron Charred Cauliflower with Date-Sumac Glaze & Preserved Lemon Tahini
I am obsessed with what happens to cauliflower when you push it right to the edge of burnt. We're skipping the gentle oven roast today and going straight for a brutal, high-heat cast-iron char that transforms the humble florets into crispy, deeply caramelized bites. Tossed in a sticky, tart date-sumac glaze and piled over a sharp, velvety pool of preserved lemon tahini, this is the mezze plate that will vanish first at your table.
Fire-Scorched Eggplant Carpaccio with Blistered Tomato-Harissa & Walnut Tarator
A dramatic, smoky masterpiece that demands to be shared. We take whole eggplants to the absolute brink under extreme heat until they collapse, then smash them flat into a luscious canvas. Drenched in a fierce, sizzling blistered tomato and rose harissa dressing, cooled by velvet walnut-tahini tarator, and showered with fresh herbs and ruby pomegranate—this is how you start a Mediterranean feast.
Caramelized Heirloom Tomato & Burrata Skillet Tatin
Tarte Tatin isn't just for apples. This is an upside-down love letter to summer: thick-cut heirlooms roasted in a balsamic caramel, blanketed under a quick, flaky rough puff. When flipped, the tomatoes are jammy, the crust is shattering, and torn burrata melts right into the savory juices. Zero soggy bottoms.
15-Minute Charred Calabacita & Chorizo Fundido (The Saturday Grazing Skillet)
Saturday afternoon grazing requires a high-payoff, low-effort miracle. We are using the smoky rendered fat from crisp Mexican chorizo to hard-char summer squash so it stays sweet and toothsome, never mushy. Blanket the whole thing in melting Oaxaca cheese, grab some sturdy chips, and you have just won the weekend.
The Aubergine Millefoglie: A Structural Midday Stack
In Milan, lunch is rarely a rushed affair; it is a precisely engineered pause in the day. This elegant, layered eggplant stack takes the nostalgic flavors of a classic Parmigiana and modernizes them into a structural midday meal. By using high-heat roasting for our load-bearing eggplant and a rapid, vermouth-spiked cherry tomato reduction as our mortar, we build incredible depth in a fraction of the time.
Robata-Blistered Japanese Eggplant with Red Curry-Chorizo Ragu
This is what happens when a Tokyo izakaya takes a detour through Mexico City and Bangkok. We're using intense, robata-style high heat to collapse the spongy cell structure of the eggplant, then loading it up with a spicy, porky ragu where chorizo fat blooms Thai red curry paste into an absolute umami bomb.
Blistered Sweet Peppers over Cloud-Whipped Pomegranate Labneh
This is how we do an appetizer in Tel Aviv: a bright, vibrant, messy masterpiece that you scoop up with warm flatbread. By straining the labneh and whipping it with just a touch of cream, we create an airy, velvet cloud that perfectly catches the hot, glossy juices of heavily charred sweet mini peppers. It is an absolute riot of textures and sweet-tart flavors.
Tarte à la Tomate Californienne
When the sun hits the patio and the heirloom tomatoes from my favorite farmer, Luc, are practically bursting with juice, there is only one thing to make. I take a classic French tomato tart and give it a West Coast kiss: a shatteringly crisp, blind-baked butter crust, a bright Meyer lemon chèvre whip, and ribbons of sweet shallot. Pour a chilled, skin-contact Chenin Blanc, invite some friends over, and let the afternoon slip away.
Binchotan-Charred Short Rib Skewers with Yuzu Kosho Salsa Macha
Whenever I hit a late-night street food stall, whether it's in Osaka or Oaxaca, meat on a stick is the universal language of flavor. For this dish, I'm taking the holy grail of grilling cuts—beef short ribs—and smashing them into a cross-cultural collision. We give the beef a fast shio koji cure for maximum tenderness, glaze it over screaming hot coals with a smoky morita chile tare, and finish it with an electrifying yuzu kosho salsa macha.
Fire-Blistered Aleppo Grapes & Charred Halloumi over Velvet Walnut Tahini
There is pure magic in the sweet, salty, and spicy collision of this mezze dish. We are scorching sweet, Aleppo-dusted grapes in a dry skillet until they burst, contrasting their jammy heat against thick, molten slabs of aggressively charred halloumi. Layered over a rich, nutty walnut tahini and finished with a sharp bite of pomegranate molasses, it is an unapologetically vibrant sharing plate that demands to be scooped up with torn pita.
Smoky Red Pepper & Chèvre Freeform Tart
Friday night cafe dining without the waitlist or the pretense. We’re pairing a lamination-lite rough puff crust with a rich, tangy goat cheese custard and smoky, charred red peppers. Butter is not a garnish here—it’s the architecture of a lacy, shatteringly crisp base.
Shio Koji Macerated Watermelon Tartare with Gochujang & Yuzu
People always think I am serving them spicy ahi tuna until they take a bite. By quick-curing finely diced watermelon with shio koji and sea salt, we trigger a rapid osmotic reaction that draws out excess water. The result? A dense, meaty texture with deeply concentrated sweetness that perfectly balances a fiery, savory gochujang and yuzu dressing.
White Miso & Yuzu Scallop Aguachile
A collision of Mexican street food and Japanese precision. Sweet, raw sea scallops are "cooked" for exactly four minutes in an electric, umami-rich broth of yuzu, serrano, and white miso, then finished with smoky charred avocado.
Golden Saffron & Fennel Steamed Mussels with Sweet Summer Corn
If you want to know what summer in Cassis tastes like with a little California sunshine thrown in, this is it. We are making a quick, golden saffron and fennel court bouillon—a classic French technique that sounds fussy but is essentially just an aromatic bath—and steaming plump mussels right in it. Sweet summer corn and heaps of torn basil keep it beautifully grounded on the West Coast.
30-Minute Chorizo & Potato Molotes (Sunday Afternoon Masa Bites)
Sunday afternoons are for grazing, not sweating over a hot stove for three hours. These shallow-fried Oaxacan-style masa pockets are stuffed with heavily rendered chorizo and crispy potatoes, then hit with a bright cabbage crunch to cut the fat.
15-Minute Skillet Volcanes de Poblano (The Friday Night Cheese Crust)
This is your Friday night transition ritual: a cold drink in one hand, and these crispy, blistered, melted masterpieces in the other. We're taking charred poblanos and letting hand-pulled Queso Oaxaca spill over the edges of a corn tortilla in a hot skillet until it forms a perfectly crispy, lacy crust.
Shaved Heirloom Radish Rosace with Whipped Cultured Butter & Cara Cara Vinaigrette
The classic Parisian 'radis au beurre' gets a sun-drenched California makeover for our Friday apéro hour. I spread beautiful, tangy cultured butter across a platter, blanket it with a delicately shaved mosaic of raw heirloom spring radishes, and wake the whole thing up with a bright Cara Cara orange and shallot vinaigrette. Grab a glass of chilled pét-nat and a piece of warm baguette—the weekend starts right here.
Okinawan Causa Nikkei with Maracuya-Cured Ahi Tuna
Causa is Peru's brilliant cold potato appetizer, but I'm giving it a Tokyo spin with vibrant Okinawan sweet potatoes. The real magic here is the ahi tuna—it's 'cooked' entirely by the fierce acidity of passionfruit and yuzu. We use a precise 10-minute acid cure that denatures the exterior proteins for a satisfying snap, while protecting the buttery raw center. It's where Peruvian technique meets Japanese precision.
Fire-Torn Oyster Mushrooms with Pomegranate Glaze over Velvet Butter Bean Tahini
If you think you know mushrooms, forget everything. By tearing these oyster mushrooms by hand and blasting them in a screaming hot oven, we create ragged, crispy edges that caramelize instantly when hit with tart pomegranate molasses. I serve this sticky, deeply savory pile over a ridiculously creamy butter bean tahini to give you the ultimate texture contrast on one striking mezze platter.
Charred Tako Anticuchos with Aji Panca Tare and Shiso Chimichurri
If a Tokyo yakitori-ya and a Lima street cart had a love child, it would be these octopus skewers. We're taking pre-cooked tako, glazing it with a sticky, raisiny aji panca and black vinegar tare, and hitting it with screaming high heat. A bright, herbaceous shiso and yuzu chimichurri cuts right through the sweet smoke.
Spring Asparagus & Gruyère Tart with Meyer Lemon Ricotta
A crisp, buttery pâte brisée filled with bright Meyer lemon ricotta, nutty Gruyère, and sweet spring asparagus. The secret to keeping this bistro-style lunch perfectly flaky and never soggy is a proper blind bake. Pour a glass of chilled natural Chenin Blanc, grab a slice, and pretend you're on a sun-drenched terrace in Paris.
Fire-Grilled Halloumi over Smashed Spring Pea Tahini with Scorched Asparagus
Halloumi is the undisputed king of the mezze spread, but it demands high heat and bold companions. Here, we score and blister thick slabs until they are crispy and molten, then lay them over a violently vibrant, emerald-green pea and tahini base. Scorched asparagus and a punchy preserved lemon-mint salsa cut right through the richness for the ultimate spring lunch.