Appetizers Recipes
Starters and appetizer recipes to kick off any meal, from elegant bites to crowd-pleasing party snacks.
Fire-Charred Zucchini Planks with Ras el Hanout Chickpea Crunch & Velvet Garlic Tahini
Thick zucchini planks are fire-scorched until smoky and tender, then layered over a luscious swoosh of lemon-garlic tahini. We crown this appetizer with spiced, ultra-crispy chickpeas, a quick fresh herb shatta, and vibrant pomegranate seeds for the ultimate bite.
Fire-Blistered Baby Eggplants with Sizzling Pine Nut & Currant Relish over Green Herb Tahini
Sweet, fire-blistered baby eggplants rest on a vibrant bed of luscious herb-packed green tahini, drizzled with a sizzling olive oil relish of toasted pine nuts, cumin, and sweet currants. Finished with bright pomegranate seeds and fresh mint, this mezze centerpiece is pure Tel Aviv magic.
Fire-Roasted Baby Squash & Spiced Lamb Kofta Bites over Velvet Garlic-Tahini with Pomegranate Shatta
Succulent mini lamb koftas scented with warm cumin and fresh herbs are layered against smoky fire-roasted baby pattypan squash and blistered tomatoes. Resting on a plush layer of whipped garlic-tahini and crowned with a fiery, crunch-laden pomegranate shatta, this mezze plate is pure Tel Aviv summer magic.
Fire-Roasted Halloumi & Charred Figs over Smoky Walnut Muhammara
Golden, squeaky slabs of fire-scorched halloumi and jammy charred figs rest on a rich bed of roasted red pepper and walnut muhammara. Finished with a sizzling pine nut pour-over and an avalanche of fresh herbs, this is the mezze centerpiece of my dreams.
Baja-Nikkei Halibut Ceviche with Yuzu Kosho Leche de Tigre
Where the coastal crudos of Ensenada meet the precision of a Tokyo sushi counter. We're using green yuzu kosho—a fermented Japanese paste of citrus, chili, and salt—to build a complex, fiery, and deeply umami curing liquid for fresh halibut.
Cast-Iron Blistered Sweet Corn & Golden Tomatoes over Velvet Feta-Tahini
When the sun starts dipping low and the heat of the day lingers, this is exactly what I want on my table for a Mediterranean sunset mezze. We are taking the sweetest summer corn and cherry tomatoes, blistering them in a screaming-hot cast-iron skillet until they violently char and burst, and swooping them over a luscious whipped feta-tahini base. A massive fistful of fresh herbs and a sizzle of Urfa biber pine nuts finishes it off—grab some warm pita, because you'll want to drag it through every single contrasting layer.
Charleston-Style Pan-Fried Crab Cakes with Field Pea & Cucumber Relish
Growing up in Atlanta, crab was a coastal luxury my grandmother treasured, and she taught me that when you have beautiful lump crab, you stay out of its way. In this elevated summer lunch, we're using a feather-light hand to fold the delicate meat with crushed buttery crackers and a secret splash of fish sauce for deep umami. Pan-fried until golden and served over a bright, cooling field pea relish, it's the taste of a Southern summer afternoon.
The Palladian Balcony: Pan-Seared Scallops over Mascarpone Cannellini
An elegant summer al fresco dinner should feel like a gentle evening breeze, not a culinary marathon. Here, sweet scallops are quickly seared in rendered pancetta fat, resting on a velvety, shortcut foundation of mascarpone-whipped cannellini beans. A brilliant dish where we let the ingredients do the heavy lifting.
Gruyère & Dijon Choux Couronne
Think of this as the ultimate tear-and-share gougère, supersized into a rustic French crown (couronne). By piping one continuous ring instead of thirty individual puffs, you get maximum lift, a shattering cheese-crusted exterior, and a custardy, lacy interior in a fraction of the time. It is high-impact cafe architecture, zero piping fatigue.
Cast-Iron Green Tomato Bites with Whipped Pimento Chèvre
Bite-sized wedges of tart green tomato, shallow-fried to a golden cornmeal crunch and topped with a creamy, elevated take on pimento cheese. Finished with a drizzle of hot honey, this is the ultimate summer porch snack.
Passionfruit & Yuzu Scallop Tiradito with Toasted Buckwheat
Scallops are delicate creatures, and a heavy-handed traditional lime cure will turn them into rubber erasers in minutes. By using a Nikkei-inspired leche de tigre made from bright passionfruit, aromatic yuzu, and umami-rich white soy sauce, we gently 'cook' the scallops just enough to firm their exterior while keeping the center sweet and creamy. The crunchy toasted buckwheat gives it that essential earthy textural contrast you usually get from Peruvian cancha.
"Cheat Code" Antipasto Tortellini Skewers
Poolside snacking needs to be two things: easy to eat with one hand, and completely stress-free to make. We're taking store-bought cheese tortellini, giving it a quick 3-minute plunge, and tossing it in a zesty vinaigrette before threading it with classic antipasto fixings. It's the ultimate summer grab-and-go bite that looks like you tried way harder than you actually did.
Sheet-Pan "Cheat Code" Sticky Korean BBQ Beef Sliders
Listen, it's Friday night and you want something ridiculously good to eat with a cold beer, but you absolutely do not want to cook a complicated meal. Enter these sticky, sweet, savory Korean BBQ beef sliders. We're leaning hard on store-bought bulgogi marinade to glaze up standard ground beef, piling it on sweet rolls, melting a blanket of cheese over it all, and finishing with a vibrant 10-second sesame slaw. It's high-impact flavor with zero stress.
High-Heat Whole Cauliflower with Blistered Grapes & Pomegranate Labneh
I truly believe a whole roasted cauliflower should stop conversation at the dinner table. Here, we par-boil the vegetable so the inside becomes buttery, then scorch it in a blazing oven until deeply charred. It sits on a thick bed of pomegranate-swirled labneh and gets showered in an aggressive, jammy mixture of blistered grapes, toasted walnuts, and Aleppo pepper.
Cast-Iron Blistered Shishitos with Aji Amarillo Crab 'Dynamite'
This is my Tokyo-meets-Lima take on a classic izakaya bar snack. We use screaming high heat to aggressively blister shishito peppers, then toss them off-heat in a Peruvian-Japanese 'dynamite' sauce made of sweet lump crab, aji amarillo, and Kewpie mayo. The residual heat melts the fat into a smoky, sweet, and fiery glaze.
Rustic Heirloom Tomato, Dijon & Melted Shallot Galette
A classic Parisian Tarte à la Moutarde goes rogue in this freeform, sun-soaked galette. We're slathering a buttery crust with sharp Dijon, piling it high with jammy melted shallots, and layering vibrant heirloom tomatoes that concentrate beautifully in the oven. It is exactly what I want to slice into on a blanket at a summer picnic, clutching a chilled glass of skin-contact Pinot Gris.
Heirloom Tomato & Whipped Ricotta Rustic Pliage
A café-style lunch that refuses to compromise on crust. We are taking thick slabs of July heirlooms and folding them into a sour-cream rough dough that shatters on impact. Salting the tomatoes first is the non-negotiable step that saves your crumb from a soggy fate.
The Burrata Courtyard: Marinated Zucchini Ribbons
In Milan, aperitivo hour is not merely a drink; it is a vital transition between the chaos of the workday and the sanctuary of the evening. This dish treats a stunning sphere of burrata as a structural centerpiece, surrounded by an intricate colonnade of raw, gently marinated summer squash ribbons. By employing a quick acid-cure, we let the ingredients do the heavy lifting, collapsing the time required to build profound, refreshing flavor.
Shio Koji-Cured Watermelon & Tuna Tostadas with Yuzu-Gochujang
A cross-cultural summer lunch that plays with texture, temperature, and your expectations. We're using the enzymatic power of shio koji to compress watermelon until it matches the meaty chew of raw yellowfin tuna, then tossing both in a vibrant yuzu-gochujang dressing. Spread over a creamy edamame-avocado base on a crisp tostada, it is a wild, refreshing bite that hits every single umami receptor.
Fire-Scorched Romano Peppers with Sizzling Cumin-Almond Crunch & Velvet Tahini Yogurt
A mezze plate is only as good as its contrasts, and this one has it all: icy, thick tahini yogurt crashing into blistered, sweet peppers. We take Romano peppers to the absolute brink under a high-heat broiler, then drown them in a shattering, spiced almond sizzle oil. Scoop it up with warm pita for the ultimate summer snack.
Tokyo-Lima Street Cart Chicken: Aji Panca & Black Garlic Skewers
I've spent enough nights eating at Tokyo yakitori joints and Lima anticucho carts to know they share the exact same DNA: smoke, high heat, and a sticky, deeply savory glaze. Here, we're taking the protease-power of Japanese shio koji to rapidly tenderize chicken thighs, then blistering them with a tare made from fruity Peruvian aji panca and earthy black garlic. It's a cross-cultural umami bomb on a stick that demands a cold beer.
Feta & Cracked Pepper Gougères
Gougères are the ultimate happy hour flex. By folding briny feta and an aggressive amount of black pepper into a simple choux paste, we get puffs that are shattering outside and beautifully lacy inside. Unlike melting cheeses, feta holds its ground, creating distinct, salty pockets in every bite. Grab a cold glass of something sparkling; we're not suffering for Friday drinks.
"Cheat Code" One-Bowl Baked Elote Dip
Listen, if I'm at a pool party, I'm there to eat dip and judge the playlist. This baked Mexican street corn dip is exactly what you need when you want maximum flavor with zero effort. We literally dump everything into one bowl, give it a stir, and bake it until it's bubbly, golden, and aggressively delicious. Grab the sturdiest tortilla chips you can find.
Slow-Roasted Aubergine & Melted Shallot Mille-Feuille
I used to spend hours in Parisian kitchens building impossibly precise vegetable tians. Now that I’m in California, I prefer a more relaxed approach, but I haven't lost my love for layering flavors. By slow-roasting thick, meaty rounds of aubergine, we create a custardy foundation that we stack high with bright Meyer lemon chèvre, deeply sweet melted shallots, and my signature jammy egg.
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.