Simmer

Think of dal as similar in use to gravy—in other words, not a side dish or its own course. It is eaten on rice or with flatbreads, or with dry curries, and vegetables; it is meant as part of a meal.

Preserve those last summer berries with this quick and easy jam. Then slather it on toast, whisk it into a fruity salad dressing, or swirl into store-bought ice cream.

As long as you don’t mess with the ratio of vinegar, sugar, and salt, you can experiment with other spices, like fennel and coriander seeds, in this brine.

Slightly bruised or wrinkled stone fruit is ideal for making the infused syrup; peaches and nectarines work too.

An old classic that relies on a few new tricks to make the most ethereal coconut cream pie imaginable.

You'll add the bok choy to the noodles during the last minute of cooking, and punch up a quick broth with ground pork, miso, and soaked dried mushrooms.

This classic Polish soup is the ultimate in summer refreshment.

When late-season and bruised tomatoes show up at the market, stock up.

No vodka is needed for this spin on the classic pasta dish.

Cashews lend body, creaminess, and richness to this pea soup and also make it vegan; sub almonds if you prefer.

Sweet summer corn makes a surprising star turn in this ultra-creamy dessert flecked with rich butterscotch sauce and crunchy caramel popcorn.

If you were a sporty type at school, you may remember those little orange slices that were given out at half time during matches. A momentary respite from jumping and leaping in the air on a cold windy netball court in the depths of winter seems to be a vivid memory from my early teenage years. Naturally, giving you a recipe for orange slices may have proven uninspiring so, with a bit of cooking magic, I would like to introduce you to my watermelon Jell-O shots… A happy walk down memory lane with a very modern twist. For an alcoholic version, replace 1/2 cup of the water with some vodka.

Fresh, crisp, sweet and salty, this is my go-to summer salad. Using in-season fruit in salads always makes for a refreshing change.

Step 1: Prep this simple soffritto and nutty pesto. Step 2: Make beautiful, clean soups on a whim.

This recipe warms the heart of my big sister, Omolola. She insists that she can’t make it like I can, but I reckon she just likes being pampered once in a while. Don’t we all. Yam can be a little dry on its own but this mash is silky smooth, with the coconut giving it a richness.

This is the dish that first got me into cooking. Talking about it got me my first job in a kitchen, and together with the help of friends, local restaurants, and family it’s the recipe we have worked on the most for this book, because we all know how good it should be. If I could only eat one thing in the world it would probably be my grandma’s jollof. She would regularly cook a big pot with care and patience and insist that everyone took home a small container of it. Cooking the rice and storing it for the following day or to give to friends to take away is part of a sharing culture that surrounds jollof—just remember to return the Tupperware!

We love the citrusy sour flavor of hibiscus, not to mention its amazing color.

The easiest and most refreshing summer dessert? Water and sugar, frozen and scraped into fluffy “shaved ice.” Sweetened blackberries tossed with lime juice make an excellent topping.

A combination of pork belly and pork shoulder, slow-cooked to tenderness and then crisped in a pan, yields carnitas with unparalleled texture and richness.

Though Birrieria Zaragoza uses goat, this deeply spiced braise is equally good with lamb.