There are a specific few weeks where nobody knows what to cook, and they're normally the last few weeks of September. It's too warm for a braise, the tomatoes are still good but on their way out, and squash has started showing up at the market like it owns the place. The answer is not to pick a side, but dive into it all with an amalgamation of dishes. These are the recipes that use the last of summer and the first of fall in the same pan, which is exactly what the season is doing anyway. You'll notice that not everything has a specific measurement and that's because I prefer to measure with the heart and what fits my taste palette. I won't tell you how much lemon to squeeze on top or how much broth to add in, to each their own!
This recipes great if you want something quick & flavorful. No outdoor grill required (honestly a cast iron grill pan gives you better char control anyway) & the Harissa brings enough warmth to feel seasonal without turning this into a winter dish.
— Yields 4 servings
What you need:
• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 pounds)
• ¼ cup harissa paste
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Flaky salt, to finish
Directions:
1. Whisk harissa, yogurt, minced garlic, cumin and lemon zest into a marinade and coat the thighs
2. Let them sit 20-30 minutes — a few hours is better
3. Get a cast iron grill pan hot enough that a drop of water disappears on contact, then lay the thighs down and leave them alone for 5-6 minutes. Resist flipping them early, that's how you get grill marks instead of steamed chicken.
3. Flip once, cook another 5 minutes, then rest for 5 minutes before slicing
4. Squeeze lemon over everything at the end
Soup season technically hasn't started, but this one is light enough to make the case early. It's brothy rather than heavy, which is the whole trick to eating soup in September without feeling like you jumped the gun.
— Yields about 6 servings, roughly 10 cups
What you need:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 parmesan rind (optional, but worth it)
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups lacinato kale, stemmed and torn
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Start with a proper soffritto AKA diced onion, carrot and celery cooked slowly in olive oil until everything softens and sweetens (~10 minutes). Son't rush this part, it's where the flavor comes from
2. Add garlic and red pepper for a minute, then the stock and the parmesan rind. Let it simmer for 20 minutes
3. Add the beans and simmer ten more, mashing a few against the side of the pot to thicken the broth naturally
4. Stir in torn kale at the very end so it stays bright green instead of going gray
5. Finish with lemon juice and a heavy pour of olive oil on top.
* Pull the rind before serving, or don't tell and let someone find it
This is the recipe that most literally bridges the seasons, because delicata squash and late-summer herbs overlap at the market for about three weeks and then never see each other again.
— Yields 4 servings as a main, 6 as a side
What you need:
• 1 medium delicata squash, halved, seeded and sliced into half moons
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 ½ cups uncooked farro (about 3 cups cooked)
• 3 cups baby arugula
• ⅓ cup pepitas
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup olive oil, for the dressing
• Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Slice the squash into half moons, no peeling required since the skin is completely edible, and roast at 425º until the edges go golden and slightly crisp, around 25 minutes
2. Whisk together apple cider vinegar, a little maple syrup, Dijon and olive oil for the dressing
3. Toss warm farro with the dressing first so it absorbs everything, then fold in arugula, roasted squash, pepitas, cranberries and a generous amount of torn herbs. 4. Serve warm or at room temperature.
* this holds up for days, which makes it the rare salad worth meal-prepping
When you want something that tastes like fall but takes 15 minutes, this is it. 4 ingredients, no real technique, genuinely impressive.
— Yields 4 servings
What you need:
• 1 pound short pasta, like rigatoni or farfalle
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 15 - 20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for serving
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt, for the pasta water
Directions:
1. Cook the pasta and save a full cup of the starchy water before draining
2. Melt butter in a wide skillet over medium heat and let it foam, then keep going until the milk solids turn golden brown and it smells nutty, about 4 minutes
3. Drop the sage leaves in and let them crisp for 30 seconds
4. Add the pasta with a splash of the reserved water and toss aggressively until the sauce comes together and clings
5. Finish with parmesan, a lot of black pepper and a small squeeze of lemon to keep it from feeling too rich
Every dinner on this list is better with this next to it. Charring is what makes broccolini taste like something rather than a vegetable you added out of obligation. Plus, this takes less than 10 minutes from top to bottom!
— Yields 4 servings as a side
What you need:
• 2 bunches broccolini (about 1 pound), trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Flaky salt, to finish
Directions:
1. Get a skillet very hot, add a thin layer of olive oil, and lay the broccolini down in a single layer. Leave it undisturbed for 3 minutes so it actually chars instead of steaming
2. Add sliced garlic and red pepper, and cook another 2 minutes
3. Finish off heat with lemon juice and flaky salt
The unofficial marker that the season has turned. Making it in a skillet means fewer dishes and a better crust-to-fruit ratio.
— Yields 6 servings
What you need:
• 6 medium apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), peeled and sliced
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• ½ cup packed brown sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Directions:
1. Sauté sliced apples in butter and brown sugar in an oven-safe skillet for about 5 minutes until they start to soften and the sugar turns syrupy
2. Meanwhile, rub cold butter into oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt with your fingers until you get clumps rather than sand. Clumps are what you want, so don't overwork it.
3. Scatter the topping over the apples and bake at 375 for 30 minutes until bubbling at the edges and deeply golden on top. Serve straight from the skillet with ice cream melting into it.
Once you put together any one of these, the in-between season stops feeling like a problem to solve. Everything works whether you're eating outside in a sweater or inside with the windows open, which is really all anyone's doing right now anyway.
