Easy summer dinner recipes

September signals the end of summer, but thankfully not the end of summer produce. So much of it is at its prime right now. Certainly tomatoes are, and sweet peppers. They both need the whole season to achieve their juicy ripeness. They’re worth the wait, perfect for building a menu around, as are late-season plums, which are now coming in. This menu employs all of these, and, best of all, it’s very doable.

To start, a drool-worthy carpaccio made from vine-ripe tomatoes. Though traditionally meat based, carpaccio, said to have been named for Vittore Carpaccio, the Venetian painter known for his use of deep red, can refer to any dish that is presented thinly sliced and spread across the plate. But the recipe here is much more than a mere plate of sliced tomatoes. The key is using truly ripe ones, no matter what color they are, but large red ones are ideal.

Use your best extra-virgin olive oil for the dressing, which also features briny shallots and capers, a whiff of garlic and a touch of anchovy. Finish with a handful of torn basil leaves for an easily executed first course.

For a seasonal main, firm, meaty fish like striped bass or halibut makes a good choice for pairing with the sweet pepper harvest. It’s fine to use standard bell peppers, but preferably, find some wonderful shapely variety like the curvy corno di toro, available in shades of red, yellow and orange. An assortment of colors makes for a dramatic rendition. Cooking all of the peppers slowly in olive oil, with onion and garlic, punched up with cayenne and smoked paprika, intensifies their sweetness.

To maximize the peppers and avoid any odd scraps, cut them in half lengthwise, right through the stem, then remove the stems, veins and seeds (as opposed to cutting off the tops and bottoms first, as some recipes advise).

I recommend making the pepper mixture well in advance, even a day ahead, so the only cooked-to-order parts of the dish will be preparing the fish and any last-minute herb chopping.

To finish, enter those late-summer plums — especially the small dark purple, yellow-fleshed Italian ones, which are a delight, and highly recommended. (If you can’t find them, other types of plum or even pluots will work for this dessert.)

Simply split them in half and arrange them cut side up in a pie plate, then scatter with a crunchy almond-scented, streusel-like topping and bake. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a dollop of crème fraîche or barely sweetened softly whipped cream for the final exercise in simple seasonal cooking, delivering real flavor with ease.

Recipe: Tomato Carpaccio

By David Tanis

Really not much more than a plate of sliced tomatoes, the key to this dish is truly ripe tomatoes, the kind you get at the farmers’ market at summer’s end. It doesn’t matter what color they are, though large red ones are ideal. Use your best extra-virgin oil for the dressing, which also features briny shallots and capers, a whiff of garlic and a touch of anchovy. Finish with a handful of basil leaves.