It’s no secret that Bon Appétit 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.
July 10
Breakfast for the week
A Sunday stroll through the farmers market led me to an unexpected splurge: juicy black currants. Then I turned the corner to find a stand selling stone-ground rye flour, a pairing I couldn’t pass up. A quick search landed me on these Blueberry Spelt Muffins, hoping that the rye flour and fresh currants would serve as respectable substitutes. I added nearly the entire pint of fruit I purchased, and the resulting muffins came out hearty and jammy. The streusel topping added a buttery crunch and helped quell the tartness of the currants. I ate them for breakfast all week. —Lillian Syme, research fellow
Birthday clam pasta
To celebrate deputy food editor Hana Asbrink’s birthday the other week, I made a big pot of linguine alle vongole. It’s briny, buttery, garlicky, and in my opinion, one of the best ways to enjoy both pasta and clams in the summer. I loosely followed BA’s Best Linguine and Clams recipe, swapping the DIY breadcrumbs for well-toasted panko. Here’s a tip when making clam (or any in-shell seafood) pasta for a group: Remove most of the clams from their shells and toss them into the pasta. By leaving just a handful in their shells, you can elegantly arrange them on top of the noodles, but no one has to get their fingers involved for a clammy bite. —Rebecca Firkser, Test Kitchen editor
Clams vary in brininess and the amount of liquid they’ll release during cooking, so you’ll need to adjust the salt and add pasta water accordingly. To prevent the sauce from getting too salty, we recommend a measured amount of salt for the pasta water. If possible, look for an artisanal dried pasta for this recipe—the rougher surface texture will catch the slippery sauce better.
BLTs minus the bread
The BLT is the best sandwich. I said it! I’ll gladly put away at least one a week when tomatoes are in season. I wanted to find a way to enjoy all the best parts of the sandwich, but without the bread, which can feel a little heavy in the dead heat of the summer. Happily, Molly Baz’s BLT Wraps with Horseradish Mayonnaise solve that problem by taking the slices right out of the equation and swapping them for toasted breadcrumbs. Perfectly shaped Little Gem lettuce leaves act as your “vessel” to cradle all the fillings. On busy nights, I might even skip the breadcrumbs. On others, I load the wraps with leftover rotisserie chicken for more protein. However you modify, don’t skip the basil. —Carly Westerfield, associate manager, audience strategy
An actually filling smoothie
My smoothie routine was in need of a shake up. I rarely deviate from a banana plus Greek yogurt combo to thicken my standard berries and greens blend and boost the protein. It works! But it’s also a bit boring and quite sweet. Who knew all I needed to do was swap in some cottage cheese? My brilliant colleague Rebecca Firkser. Her Berry Protein Smoothie is straightforward: frozen berries, cottage cheese, water, and nut butter. The drink is thick but sippable, actually filling, and boasts a hint of salt to balance the natural fruity sweetness. I’ve been playing with her framework by adding in dark leafy greens, some additional nuts and seeds, or subbing in mangoes and kiwi for the berries, all to great success. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior cooking editor
Corn furikake fried rice
My boyfriend came home with a fresh, glistening shaker bottle of furikake “with granola”. Hm! Not our usual, but I’m not mad about it. I opened it with ferocious strength and, boom, it erupted all over our kitchen floor. After a quick intermission of vacuuming (hey, we needed a clean anyway), I went forth making senior Test Kitchen editor Shilpa Uskokovic’s Corn Furikake Fried Rice with what was left of the jar. It’s a cinch to make on a weeknight, even with a delayed start: under 10 ingredients and 30 minutes tops. The dish uses a hefty amount of corn (almost double the rice) which means each bite has sweet, milky bursts of summery flavor. And the final flourish of the unscathed granola furikake was a textural marvel. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
