Labor Day is the perfect time to gather with friends and family, enjoying the last taste of summer. Whether you’re planning a backyard BBQ, a picnic, or a cozy dinner at home, my Best Labor Day Recipe collection has something for everyone. From mouthwatering grilled dishes to refreshing salads and indulgent desserts, these recipes are sure to make your holiday celebration unforgettable. Explore my handpicked selection and make your Labor Day a feast to remember!
How to Smoke an Oyster
I recently took a trip to Tomales Bay which is a short drive to the North of San Francisco near wine country to learn all about the oysters they harvest as well as how to make smoked oysters. If you’re in town, I highly recommend spending a day driving out there to enjoy the oysters, the spectacular views of the bay. There are lots of little towns on the way, that have great options for food too!
Seekh Kebabs
Seekh kebabs are a standard item on the menu of kebab stalls in India, and they’re also my favorite type of kebab. They’re slightly hot and spicy and use a combination of toasted chickpea flour and egg as binding agents to hold the meat together. These kebabs are made with ground meat like beef, chicken, or mutton; I’m using American Lamb, which is excellent as it produces the best flavor and quality kebabs in this recipe. Unlike some other kebabs, seekh kebabs have an extra advantage. Because the meat is ground, they take the flavors from the spices quickly, and you don’t need to marinate it before cooking. Mix, shape, and grill. It’s quick and easy.
Prosciutto e Melone (Prosciutto and Melon)
In every Provençal restaurant I visited this summer, a simple yet stunning dish of fresh cantaloupe and ham graced the menu—an ode to the region’s famous Cavaillon melon. This sweet, honey-scented fruit pairs effortlessly with the salty, savory notes of prosciutto or thinly sliced ham, creating a perfect harmony of flavors. The beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity; nothing else is needed. Just be sure to use the ripest cantaloupe and the finest prosciutto you can find. It’s a refreshing and elegant bite that captures the essence of summer in Provence. You will also see this dish in Italy during summer.
spiced lamb kebabs
I’ve used American ground lamb meat to prepare these spiced kebabs. The recipe itself is very simple and quick but you will need to use a few spices to flavor the meat. Often when I’m in a rush and need to make dinner fast, ground meat like lamb is an option I turn to. Because the meat is ground it not only quicks quickly but it also absorbs flavors with ease.
Lentil and Potato Croquettes with Yogurt Tartar Sauce
This is a vegetarian version of my grandmother’s ground beef croquettes. I’ve used a combination of mashed potatoes and lentils to build the body of the croquette and then made it extra crispy by tossing it twice in a breading mixture of panko breadcrumbs, chia seeds, and sesame seeds. I prefer tangier dips to go along with crispy and fried foods, and the tanginess of this yogurt-based tartar sauce is a fantastic partner to the croquettes!
blistered shishito peppers with shichimi togarashi
Smoky and blistered, with bits of sour and salty goodness accompanied by a game of Russian roulette, is how I like to describe this dish of green shishito peppers. The taste is addictive, and you never know who will get that one hot pepper (I always pray and hope it isn’t me).
Parsi Prawn Kebabs/Kolmi Na Kavab
Excerpted from Parsi: From Persia to Bombay: recipes & tales from the ancient culture. Used with the permission of the publisher, Bloomsbury. Copyright © 2022 by Farokh Talati (Amazon/Bookshop)
This prawn kebab recipe from the Parsi cookbook quickly became a favorite in our home. The unique combination of spices, flavors, and comforting textures made it a clear winner. Serve it as an appetizer, a side, or in a sandwich.
Crispy Air Fryer Broccoli Bites
Of all the textures, crispy is my favorite, and these chickpea flour battered broccoli bites fall into that important category of food snacks. To make the batter crispy, I’ve used a science trick by mixing chickpea flour with cornstarch, cold water, and oil to make a slurry. The starch in cornstarch is unique because it can form gels with water very easily, and during cooking, it undergoes physical changes due to processes like gelatinizing, retrogradation, and dehydration. This means the starch will absorb water during cooking and change its physical structure to move from soft to crispy. I’ve doubled down on the crispy texture by using an air fryer that uses super-fast fans to circulate heat rapidly, which helps dry and crisp the food even better. I serve the bites with this ridiculously good Buffalo Sauce from Primal Kitchen made with avocado oil and cayenne.
I adore Primal Kitchen because they carry a wide selection of condiments, sauces, and dressings, including this buffalo sauce crafted with high-quality ingredients and made without artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, and high-fructose corn syrup. You can find Primal Kitchen products at your local grocery store or head to Primal Kitchen and use my code SHARMA20 at checkout for 20% off your entire online order.
Tater Tot Aloo Tikki Chaat
This is the cheater’s version of Aloo Tikki Chaat, borne out of cravings. Tater tots take the place of aloo tikki (spiced potato cakes) and are served with all the accompaniments that make chaat a special part of Indian cuisine.
Spicy Shrimp Roast
This is an easy Spicy Shrimp Roast with potatoes and bell peppers. It’s a quick and satisfying dish that is hot and vinegary, and those familiar with Goan cuisine will notice some of those flavors. My grandmother made a shrimp dish like this, but she packed the heat so much that I remember my ears would ring
Tapenade
Tapenade hails from the Provençal region of France and comes from the French word “tapen” which means capers. This is the perfect union of briny, salty, and savory flavors from the Mediterranean trifecta of olives, capers, and anchovies. Use it as a spread on bread, or serve it with crudité, hard-boiled eggs, fish, stuff chicken, and more.
summer tomato and naan salad
To be fair, you could use any flatbread, but naan and pita are usually what I have lying around my kitchen, and they make their way into this salad, a somewhat hybrid of Middle Eastern Fatoush and an Italian Panzanella. Select your favorite assortment of ripe tomatoes that are in season and fold them into this salad. Heating the olive oil first allows you to draw out the aroma of the spices giving you a much more flavorful dressing.
This recipe first appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle on August 8, 2018
Ranch-Style Potato Salad
This Ranch Potato Salad is easy to make, tastes fantastic, and is perfect for any occasion that calls for a potato salad. Tender potatoes are tossed in Primal Kitchen Ranch dressing with crispy bits of pancetta and fresh dill.
Grilled Peach Salsa and Steak Salad and My Grilling Tips and Tricks
Summer is a beautiful season and one of my favorites of the year. Bright, juicy yellow peaches, big ears of sweet corn, peppers, and tomatoes in a gazillion different colors and shapes are all starting to appear in abundance. While I can and do grill year-round, this is typically the peak season for grilling. Hey, the Fourth of July is coming up, and I wanted to get this recipe out to you early, so you have enough time to plan. For those of you who are looking for an easy, no-fuss recipe, I think you will appreciate the unfussy nature of this grilled steak salad recipe that comes with a grilled peach salsa that also acts as the dressing for the salad.
Kachumber Salad
One of the most iconic salads served at Indian restaurants and made in homes; this salad is served as an accompaniment to a large meal. When in season, I toss in diced chunks of crisp pink radishes. If you don’t like cilantro, fresh dill or mint is delicious here. In addition to eating it as a side, I also love it with fried or roasted discs of papad/poppadum, just like tortilla chips and salsa.
Italian Soppressata Salad
It’s been brutally hot; the temperatures were in the late 90s all week, and I fell into the comforting pavilion of the world of cold salads. It’s also tomato season, meaning tomatoes play a prominent role in my cooking, and you might see them pop up often here for the next couple of weeks. We’ve
Potato and Anchovy Salad
A simple herb-loaded potato salad inspired by France’s love for anchovies. This salad is lovely in summer and great with grilled meat and fish. I’ve included vegan options in the note section. This recipe is available to paid subscribers of my newsletter, The Flavor Files. Get the recipe here.
Double Onion Barbecue Sheet Pan Pizza
This unfussy double-onion barbecue chicken pizza has a luscious layer of barbecue sauce and two layers of onions. Sweet, caramelized onions and a topping of thinly sliced red onions that get roasted over the mixture of gouda and mozzarella as the pizza bakes. Make it for game night or a weekend party; either way, it’s a crowd pleaser.
Asparagus Gribiche Pizza
This might seem like an unusual combination for a pizza, but it works superbly. It’s also a fantastic way to clean out the pantry and the refrigerator. My Asparagus and Sauce Gribiche Pizza is here! We make and eat pizza year-round in this household; it’s not a seasonal dish. What does change are the toppings.
Lamb Pizza With Pickled Onions
There are many different types of lamb topped pizzas and among my favorites are the ones made in the Middle East called lahmacun (pronounced “lahma’joun”). My recipe is based on the Turkish lahmacun but I’m using pizza dough and my seasonings are slightly different. However, there is one ingredient that makes the lamb really stand out in this dish and I’m keeping it in this recipe, and that’s Turkish pepper paste. Turkish pepper paste is a concentrated mix of red peppers, quite similar in appearance to tomato paste, a wonderful condiment to keep in your refrigerator at all times. There are two types, a sweet pepper paste and a hot pepper paste, you can use either but I prefer to use a bit of both. If you can’t find the hot pepper paste, add a tiny amount of cayenne to spruce up the heat a little.
Pizza Toast
The beauty of pizza toast is not in its looks; though I do think it does look beautiful, it’s in its remarkable ability to exist as convenient. There’s no dough to be prepared, or sauce prepped ahead of time. The composition is simple: a slice of bread subbing in for the pie’s dough and all the accompaniments that make pizza, pizza. It’s also flexible.
Chaat Masala Cauliflower Tacos
Tossed and roasted with chaat masala and served with a cool herby yogurt sauce, these tacos pack a lot of flavor with minimum effort. Add your favorite garnishes to add your signature to these tacos. Use my special Chaat Masala Blend made with Oaktown Spice Shop to amp up the flavor.
Crispy Fish Sandwich with Chipotle Lime Tartar Sauce
I simply love fried fish sandwiches and wanted to share how I make them at home, of course, with extra spice. First, I make my spicy tartar sauce with Primal Kitchen Foods Chipotle Lime Real Mayonnaise and toss in chopped capers and pickles. Then, I dredge filets of white fish like cod in a mixture of flour and cornstarch, followed by an egg bath and a final round in panko. Deep fry at 350F/180C in a neutral oil like Primal Kitchen’s Avocado Oil, then put it all together in a soft brioche-style bun. If you like a slice of cheddar, feel free to add it in. This fish sandwich is extra crispy!
Indian-Style Hot Dogs
Here is my take on the famous Sonoran hot dogs, based on the ones I tried on a trip to Arizona. Sonoran hot dogs contain bacon wrapped around the hot dog. The recipe isn’t formal, so adjust the amounts to suit your needs. Dal makhani takes the place of the beans while kachumber salad becomes the veggie topping along with crumbles of soft feta. Mustard is optional but some love it here.
Steak Sandwich with Chipotle Preserved Lemon Mayo
Michael loves steak in any form or shape. He’s also biased toward steaks in salads, sandwiches, burritos, and tacos. When we have leftover or extra steak (a rare occasion), I pair it with this chipotle preserved lemon mayo, briny pickled artichokes, and sweet peppers to bring out the flavors of the steak. The bring flavors add a spot of tangy brightness to the savory taste of the grilled steak. BTW, this mayo also goes great in roast beef sandwiches.
The Best Strawberry Basil Lemonade
One of my favorite go-to drinks for guests (or just for me!) is fruit and herb-infused goodness. I love creating my own flavors, like this delicious and simple basil-strawberry lemonade 🍓🌿✨ using the Breville InFizz Fusion, which can carbonate any beverage. (Please check with manufacturer instructions when using other products.)
peach and mint lassi
Ripe yellow peaches are the star of this lassi. Fresh mint completes this drink. Enjoy this lassi on a hot summer day with plenty of ice and stay cool.
Strawberry Passion Fruit Lemonade
Here’s the thing with this lemonade, it is highly flexible. Use peaches or nectarines if you don’t have passion fruit or have a difficult time trying to find some. If you switch to stone fruit, you might need to add more lemon juice to bump up the sour factor as peaches and nectarines tend to be sweeter in taste than passion fruit. You can even take the drink a step further and throw in a cupful of fresh mint or basil while blending to add an herby flavor to this fruity and tangy drink. As for the sweetener, I like to adjust the amount of sweetener to the sweetness of the fruit. For this reason, the recipe contains a smaller amount of sugar, and you can adjust it according to your tastes. If you’re looking for a new cocktail option for a hot summer day, this is an excellent drink to play with; it makes a mighty good margarita.
The Flavor Equation : Sumac and Saffron Refresher
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be giving you little snippets from my upcoming book, The Flavor Equation, and share a new recipe for you to try until my book goes on sale October 27. This week it’s all about Emotion and Taste and their role in Flavor. Our emotions help influence our taste and taste in turn helps influence our emotions. When I’m happy and want to celebrate I often turn to lemon, lime, or passion fruit based sweets. I find them extremely comforting. When I’m feeling down, I lean towards food that I ate as a kid when I was feeling sick or sad; kanji/congee is a dish that does that for me. Think about the last time you were happy or sad, what did you crave or what did you avoid eating and drinking?
Bombay Lemonade/Nimbu Paani/Shikanji
Nimbu Paani, Shikanji, or, as I like to call it, Bombay Lemonade, is one of my favorite summer drinks. Typically made with green limes in India, it’s also a spectacular drink with lemons (try Meyer lemons in the recipe for a different aroma). Sweet and sour with a smoky, spicy, and citrusy flavor will quench your summer thirst and keep you coming back for more.
Iced Pineapple Chai
Here’s another way to stay cool this summer, this sweet and ice pineapple drink is infused with dark Darjeeling tea leaves and chai masala. If you can’t find chai masala, you can use the whole spice combination I’ve listed in the cook’s notes. Make a big batch often to enjoy it for the rest of the summer.
Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream
What are your favorite movie snacks? I love popcorn and ice cream so much that I combined them! First, I make fresh popcorn milk for the ice cream base in my Breville the Smart Scoop. Then, I fold caramel popcorn and drizzle it with plenty of caramel sauce. It’s the ultimate movie treat that makes me so happy!
Blueberry Rhubarb Cornmeal Pudding
Puddings are wonderfully easy to make and unfussy, a big reason why I deviate to them as a choice when I need something sweet. This pudding is made with finely ground yellow cornmeal and tossed with fresh slices of rhubarb and sweet juicy blueberries (and you can use fresh or frozen!). The most important part is that it’s made with fragrant coconut milk, and it thickens and firms up due to the starch present in the cornmeal, which means there’s no need for eggs! This dish can be veganized (skip the butter to grease the pan and use coconut oil); it’s dairy-free and gluten-free. This pudding might remind you of Jamaican cornmeal pudding that’s made with coconut milk and flavored with rum and raisins; they both use the same idea – thickening using starch.
Peach and Elderflower Ice Cream
This is my adult version of peach ice cream—the flavor of sweet ripe peaches and the delicate floral aroma of St. Germain pair excellently well together. This is one of my favorite summer ice creams, and it goes down very fast on a hot day.
This recipe is loosely based on David Lebovitz’s Apricot Ice Cream From The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press, Revised Edition 2018)
Diana Henry’s Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream
This marvelous and straightforward strawberry ice cream is bursting with flavor. With every scoop, you’ll get a bite of summer. Don’t skip the maceration step for the strawberries, it will help intensify the fragrance of the berries. It comes from Diana Henry’s How to Eat a Peach (2018).
This recipe originally appeared in my column at The San Francisco Chronicle.
Peach and Thai Basil Clafoutis
Clafoutis is one of the first French desserts I learned to prepare. It’s a simple pudding that relies on seasonal fruits and spices for flavor, so use the best you can find. In this version, peaches’ sweet, fragrant summer essence is paired with Thai basil’s scent. Serve it warm, and eat plenty!
S’mores Ice Cream
This combines two of my favorite things, ice cream, and s’mores. It’s a quick fix and a huge hit with the kids and adults.
makrut lime leaf scented blueberry and lemon curd tart
If you saw my Instagram Stories episode last week, you might have seen this tart. While it is well documented that I can eat lemon curd at any time of the year, I particularly it on a hot day for its cooling qualities, the idea behind this particular tart arose from a need to get rid of a few things in my refrigerator.
