Nectarine

Just about any fruit will work under this delicious lattice crust, but the sweet-tart trio of nectarines, plums, and raspberries is hard to beat.

Vegan The simplest saladitas in my repertoire are the ones that pair a single fruit with just one fresh herb. These are as flexible as they are easy. Extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon or lime juice, and salt and pepper are all optional. A small pile of Pickled Red Onions is always welcome on top. Make these shortly before serving.

When you're making preserves, fully 50 percent of your success is in the shopping—good fruit makes good jam. Technique matters also, and a sound recipe makes a difference. But the crucial remaining factor is organization. Especially when dealing with a large quantity of perishable fruits or vegetables, you have to think through your strategy and plot out your work. If you can't get everything put up immediately, you have to take into account how the produce will ripen—and soon fade—as it waits for you. My strategy for how to use a bushel of peaches would look something like this: First day/underripe fruit: Pectin levels peak just before ripening, so I'd start with peach jelly. If you don't want to make jelly, give the peaches another day to ripen. First day/just-ripe fruit: Peaches that are fragrant and slightly yielding but still firm enough to handle are ideal for canning in syrup, as either halves or slices in syrup. Second day/fully ripe fruit: As the peaches become tender and fragrant, make jam. Third day/dead-ripe fruit: By now, the peaches will likely have a few brown spots that will need to be cut away, so I'd work up a batch of chutney, which requires long, slow cooking that breaks down the fruit anyway. Fourth day/tired fruit: Whatever peaches haven't been used by now will likely look a little sad, but even really soft, spotty ones can be trimmed for a batch of spiced peach butter. Southern peach chutney evolved from an Indian relish called chatni that British colonials brought home during the days when the sun never set on the Empire. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, chatni is made fresh before a meal by grinding spices and adding them to a paste of tamarind, garlic, and limes or coconut. Pieces of fruit or vegetable may be incorporated, but the chief flavor characteristic is sour. The British turned that into a fruit preserve, explains the Oxford Companion: British chutneys are usually spiced, sweet, fruit pickles, having something of the consistency of jam. Highest esteem is accorded to mango chutney… . Chutney later spread across the Atlantic to the West Indies and the American South, where the esteemed mango was replaced by the honorable peach.

Ripe peaches can be used in place of the nectarines; choose whatever looks (and smells) best.

With a recipe as simple as this, there’s no reason not to make dessert. The fruit comes out soft and tender, while the crumble is crisp and light golden brown. Experiment with other seasonal fruit combinations: raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries are other summer options, while apples, pears, and quince are perfect for fall. All are delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Consider this colorful dish a step in the direction of rescuing the true Southeast Asian satay from its overdone-chicken-on-a-stick reputation. Tender shrimp, bright bok choy, and sweet stone fruit, all grilled together, make for a nontraditional but nonetheless scrumptious complement to a sauce that strikes the perfect sweet, spicy balance.

Grilled nectarines add an unexpected sweetness to this summer dish. The smoky, buttery scallops and caramelized fruit give farmers’ market corn and tomatoes a new way to shine. And it gets a kick from piment d’Espelette, a French hot red chile ground into a powder, and available at specialty foods stores; but chili powder is a fine alternative.

The combination of stone fruits, berries, and melon, dressed in a simple but zingy ginger syrup, makes for a seasonal dish that’s elegant enough for a party and easy enough for a creative topping to your morning bowl of quinoa or oatmeal.

Raspberries are packed with polyphenols, which may protect our brains, helping to keep us sharp.

Stone-fruit purée gives this beautifully colored sangria an intensely flavored base that's reinforced with juicy sliced fruit. Choose any combination of the ripest, most fragrant stone fruit (if, say, nectarines aren't looking great, swap in good-looking apricots). Chill the sangria before serving; the flavor will improve the longer it sits—up to two days.

Fruit, cheese, and nuts are a winning combination. This bright vinaigrette is also excellent on a salad with apricots, goat cheese, and pistachios.

Sweet nectarines balance the earthy green peppers in this colorful side.

There's so much more to leafy greens than lettuce. Here, they're tossed with a light vinaigrette and spooned over sliced stone fruit, nuts, and blue cheese.

If at any point the dough gets too soft to work with or begins to shrink, refrigerate for 15 minutes before proceeding.

Sliced almonds add crunch to the crumbles topping plump slices of sweet, firm-fleshed nectarines in this fragrant dessert.

Spoon sliced peaches or nectarines and caramel topping over these extra-creamy flans for a special treat.

Muffin-cup shortcakes made with self-rising flour turn shortcake biscuits into fast stir-up muffins. The muffins retain the biscuit qualities essential for shortcake—a crisp outer crust and a soft pillowy center that can hold up to a drenching of sweet fruit. Min sprinkles the muffin tops with fancy coarse sugar before baking because it looks pastry chef cool and has a nice crunch. Strawberries are traditional and terrific, of course, but not the only fruit to use. We spoon on any fruit that’s affordable, looks great, and is in season. Any berries or mix of berries and peaches are our summer favorites. In the winter we’ve made shortcake with sliced bananas, Smoky Caramel Sauce (page 198), and whipped cream.