The Fourth of July holiday is a strange one when it comes to food.
Most people I spoke to in my oh-so-very informal poll among a dozen or so acquaintances reported they just “throw something on the grill. You know, burgers, sausages, fish. Real simple.”
Or there’s the beach or park picnic where you pack up or buy sandwiches, slice up a watermelon, chill some beer and soda, grab a bag of chips and cookies and call it a day.
I’ve done many segments for Here & Now on grilling and sandwiches and July Fourth ideas, so I wondered how I could add a bit more fireworks to your holiday weekend meals.
Rather than rewrite the holiday or mess with people’s beloved rituals and summer traditions, I thought I’d add three recipes that could really up your game. The first is a grilled pineapple and pepper salsa that is as ideal to serve with chips or taco chips as it is spooned over grilled burgers, sausages, fish, steak, or chicken.
Then there’s a zucchini, onion, and summer herb focaccia. You may be thinking, who wants to bake on a summer holiday? Well, I do, and so will you once you try this recipe and see how little effort it takes.
I like to make the focaccia the night before I plan to serve it and then bake it early in the morning before the summer heat makes its presence known. I serve it at room temperature with any grilled foods, or use it as a base for sandwiches. It’s way easier to put together than you might suspect.
And then I had to pay tribute to berry season. Right now, in New England, the strawberries are spectacular and plentiful, and raspberries and blueberries are just beginning. This dessert combines a simple strawberry sauce with ripe berries, whipped vanilla-scented cream, and small crisp meringue cookies. It can all be made ahead of time and assembled right before you’re ready to eat.
Grilled pineapple and pepper salsa
An unexpectedly juicy and sweet salsa, this one combines grilled pineapple wedges, sweet red pepper, chopped chili pepper, scallions, lime and cilantro (or parsley). It’s equally good on taco chips, tacos, spooned over a burger, grilled sausage or steak, or chicken. The salsa will keep, covered in the refrigerator for several days.
Serves 4 to 5; makes about 1 to 1 ½ cups salsa.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 medium ripe pineapple, outer skin cut off, cored and quartered
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sweet red pepper, cored and chopped into ½-inch pieces, or ¼-inch if you like a finer, more chopped salsa
- 1 fresh jalapeno or red chili pepper, or 1 dried chili, seeded and chopped
- 2 ½ tablespoons cilantro or parsley, finely chopped
- 3 scallions, finely chopped
- Juice of 2 medium limes (about ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place a vegetable tray on a gas or charcoal grill and heat until hot, about 400 degrees. Gently toss the pineapple quarters with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Grill for 4 minutes and then carefully flip the pineapple over; grill another 3 minutes or so until the pineapple is just getting soft and has pronounced grill marks. Remove and cool.
- Chop the pineapple into ½-inch pieces, or ¼-inch size if you like a finer, more chopped salsa and place in a medium bowl. Add the sweet pepper, chili pepper, cilantro, lime juice, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Chill for at least 1 hour or cover and refrigerate for several hours.
Zucchini, onion and summer herb focaccia
It’s summer, and baking isn’t the first thing on your mind. But this focaccia is quite straightforward. You can make and rise the dough overnight and pop it into the oven first thing in the morning. You don’t need any fancy equipment; the dough is made with a simple wooden spoon and a bowl.
The top of the focaccia is lined with thin slices of summer zucchini and onions, and scattered with fresh summer herbs and coarse sea salt. Grab a few tomatoes and a round of mozzarella or burrata, and you’ve got the perfect summer sandwich. Serve with grilled burgers, sausages, fish, chicken or grilled vegetables. Focaccia works for summer breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Serves 6 to 10.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups flour (480 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine salt
- 1 packet instant yeast (7 grams)
- 2 cups warm water (not hot and not cold)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 medium or 4 very small zucchini and or summer squash, very thinly sliced, about 7 ounces
- 1 medium red or yellow onion, very thinly sliced, about 4 ounces
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh summer herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme, chives, oregano, or any combination, finely chopped
- Coarse sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Add the warm water, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and mix with a wooden spoon or a pastry whisk until the dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic alternative, place in a warm spot and let rise for about 1 to 1 ¾ hours. The dough should double in size. You can also cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
- Add a large sheet of parchment paper to a 9 by 13-inch baking pan or rimmed baking sheet, pressing down on the corners to tuck it into the pan. The parchment paper should be larger than the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the parchment paper and swirl it around to coat the entire sheet.
- When the dough has risen, using a pastry scraper or well-floured hands, remove it from the bowl and place on top of the oiled parchment paper. Using your hands, gently push the dough to the edges of the pan. If the dough shrinks back and seems to be fighting you, don’t worry. It will fill out as it continues to rise and when it bakes. You need to cover the dough but not with anything that touches the surface. I use another inverted baking pan or baking sheet. Let the dough rise again in a warm spot for another 1 ½ hours.
- Meanwhile, in a medium-large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini, onion slices, salt and pepper, and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, or until the vegetables just begin to soften and brown. They should not be fully cooked. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. (You can refrigerate the dough and the vegetables overnight if you like.)
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator if you chilled it; there should be bubbles formed at this point.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Remove any liquid that may have formed at the bottom of the bowl of vegetables. Scatter half the herbs on top of the dough. Then, carefully arrange the vegetables on top of the dough in rows, or scatter them haphazardly. Top with the remaining herbs and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt. Using your fingers, create little “dimples” in the dough, pressing down on and in between the vegetables.
- Bake on the lower third of the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top and edges of the focaccia are a rich golden brown. If you’re not sure it’s fully baked, give it another 3 to 5 minutes. (If you gently tap on the edges it should sound hollow.) Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 minutes. Carefully use the parchment paper to remove the focaccia from the pan and place on a cooling rack.
- Serve warm or room temperature, cut into squares.
Strawberries, vanilla-scented whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and meringue cookies
There are four elements that go into this festive dessert and you can make all of them (go on! You can do it!) or simply make one and keep it super simple.
Strawberries are used to make a very quick sauce that is ideal for this dessert, or can be drizzled over ice cream. It will keep sealed in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Little crispy white meringue cookies are baked. Meringue generally hates humidity, but I’ve found that if you keep them in the oven (with the temperature turned off) they will retain their crispness. When they are totally cool, place them in well-sealed bags and keep in the refrigerator for several days to retain crispness.
Next, you whip some heavy cream with vanilla and sugar. You drizzle some strawberry sauce in a bowl, top with whipped cream, add some sliced local summer strawberries and top the whole thing off with a few meringue cookies. You could also sandwich together two cookies with whipped cream and place in a bowl with some strawberry sauce and strawberries.
Serves 6 or so with a few extra cookies and sauce for later.
INGREDIENTS
The meringue cookies:
- 3 medium eggs
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- Pinch salt
- ¾ cup sugar or fine sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
The strawberry sauce:
- 16 ounces (1 quart) fresh ripe strawberries, hulled and chopped
- About ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons water
The whipped cream and strawberries:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- About 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 quart ripe strawberries, hulled and cut in half or left whole if small
INSTRUCTIONS
- Make the meringue cookies; Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
- Separate the eggs and place the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl. Discard the yolks or save for hollandaise. Whip the whites on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and salt, and whip another minute. Increase the speed to medium and add half the sugar in a slow steady stream. Keep whipping for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and the remaining sugar and whip until the egg whites look glossy and firm peaks are formed when you lift the whisk up off the mixer. This should take around 9 to 12 minutes.
- Using a tablespoon, form cookies on the parchment paper, letting the top of the meringue form a kind of swirl on top, like a comma, or the top of a Hershey kiss. Repeat; you should have about 20 cookies.
- Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven (keeping the cookies in the oven) and let sit in the still warm oven for 2 hours. If you don’t need the oven, you can keep the cookies there if you like (it’s a humidity-free environment) or place in a well-sealed container and place in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- Make the strawberry sauce: place the berries and sugar in a medium saucepan and gently stir. Let sit for 15 minutes or up to an hour to release some of the berry juice. Add the lemon juice and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir well. Reduce the temperature to medium and simmer for 10 minutes or until the berries have begun to cook down and the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and, using a potato masher, mash the berries.
- Place a fine strainer over a bowl and strain the strawberry mixture, pushing gently with a spatula or wooden spoon. Place the sauce in a well-sealed jar or container and keep in the refrigerator for several days. Chilling will thicken the sauce.
- Whip the cream: place the cream in a large bowl and whip for a minute. Add the sugar and vanilla and whip until peaks form.
- There are several ways to serve this. You can place the bowl of whipped cream, berries, strawberry sauce and cookies on the table and let everyone assemble their own bowl. I like to place a tablespoon of strawberry sauce in the bottom of a bowl (a clear bowl is really pretty) and then top with whipped cream, strawberries and touch more sauce. Then I tuck 2 to 3 cookies into the side of the bowl and serve. You can also sandwich two cookies together with the whipped cream. Place in a bowl with some strawberry sauce and serve. Either way it’s delicious.
Other Fourth of July recipes
Red, white and blue dishes for your July 4th celebration
- Blue corn nachos with tomatoes, salsa and sour cream
- Blue crab tostados on blue corn tortillas with tomato salsa and lime-sour cream
- Make America Sweet Again: Strawberry-blueberry tart
Fourth of July side dishes: A new look at some old favorites
- Grilled cabbage salad with caper-yogurt dressing
- Summer green mac and cheese
- Cucumber and pickled red onion salad with spicy sesame oil
Grill and chill this Fourth of July weekend with these 3 mouthwatering dishes
- Indian-spiced chicken skewers
- Clam packets with scallions, tomatoes, garlic and chorizo
- Watermelon, roasted cherry tomatoes, feta, mint and green olive salad
Celebrate summer with these grilling recipes and tips
- Grilled fish with lemon, dill and scallions
- Fish and vegetable kebobs
- Grilled chicken with cilantro-garlic-mint marinade
- Grilled watermelon, feta and mint salad
- Watermelon, crab and arugula salad
- Watermelon and roasted cherry salsa
- Chopped salad
- Kale salad with raisins and nuts
- Cold cucumber soup with mint, dill and lemon
- Granny’s Icebox Cake
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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