TasteFood

Yes, you can eat warm soup in the summer -- especially when it’s chowder. Clam and fish chowders evoke sunshine, seafood and the seashore. While clam chowder is always a favorite, I prefer to make fish chowders, loaded with chunky fish swimming in a smoky, creamy broth.

When making a fish chowder, always choose a firm-fleshed fish, which will hold its shape when cooking in the soup. Delicate, flat filets will flake and dissolve in the broth. While halibut, sea bass and cod are always good options, I prefer salmon. Salmon’s buttery-rich flesh complements the creamy stock, and when possible, I’ll combine chunks of warm-smoked salmon with fresh salmon. Warm-smoked salmon adds the salty, smoky note essential to a deeply flavorful chowder (this is often achieved with bacon in clam chowders), and has a dry and firm consistency, unlike cold-smoked salmon, which is soft and slippery.

Potatoes are another key ingredient, adding thickening starch and substance. And while you can certainly stop there, I encourage adding additional vegetables, such as leafy greens and crucifers, such as cauliflower or broccoli. Then you can pat yourself on the back and call your bowl of chowder a complete meal.

In this recipe, handfuls of fresh spinach and cauliflower florets are included. If you’re skeptical about the extra veggies, don’t worry -- the creamy, robust chowder can handle them. In fact, the vegetables add a welcome earthiness to the rich soup and balance the creaminess. If you are cauliflower-averse, feel free to omit it and add more spinach.

Be sure to taste for seasoning when the soup is finished. Depending on the saltiness of the smoked salmon, you may need more salt, and don’t (ever) skimp on the freshly ground black pepper.

Salmon and Spinach Chowder

Active Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped, about 1 cup

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups water

2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (peeling optional -- I like keeping the skin on)

1 1/2 cups bite-sized cauliflower florets

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound salmon filet, skin and pin-bones removed, cut in 3/4-inch chunks

1/2 pound warm-smoked salmon filet, skin and pin-bones removed, broken into bite-size chunks

1 large handful baby spinach leaves

Fresh dill for garnish

Heat the oil and melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until softened without coloring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook until slightly toasty in aroma, 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour in the water and whisk to blend. Add the potatoes and cauliflower. The vegetables should be submerged in the soup. If not, add more water to cover. Bring to a boil, partially cover the pot, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the cream, Tabasco, paprika, salt and black pepper.

Add the fresh and smoked salmon and simmer until the fresh salmon is cooked, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the spinach and simmer until just wilted, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Taste for seasoning.

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with dill. Serve immediately.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Now that it’s officially June, I am obsessed with strawberries. When June rolls around, I behave as though I haven’t seen a strawberry since, well, forever. (Full disclosure: I live in California, so this is not the actual case.) However, this reflex -- which I fully embrace -- stretches back to when I lived in Denmark.

Danish strawberry season is fleeting and fickle. It begins in June (hopefully), and stretches into August (potentially), but you can never count on the season’s start, end or (heaven forbid) existence, as Nordic summers can produce rain and chill as easily as the famous midnight sun. If you are lucky, the season cooperates, and strawberries will flower in late spring and grow, almost before your eyes, in June.

It’s a window of time when there’s no holding back; when the name of the game is to gorge on the berries while you can, ever aware that this moment may quickly pass. Any surplus that you can’t devour (bless you) or bake into a nightly rotation of berry-full desserts are frozen and preserved for later consumption as a nostalgic taste of summer sunshine during the dark winter months.

Now I live in California, and while there’s less urgency in stocking up on these summery berries, I still revel in the memory and indulge in over-consumption. And when I’ve tired of stuffing my face with fresh berries, I add them to easy desserts, such as this fruit crisp.

Strawberry Crisp With Orange and Cardamom

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 to 65 minutes, plus cooling time

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Topping:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup chopped almonds (optional)

Filling:

2 pounds strawberries, hulled, halved if small, quartered if large

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Pinch of salt

Make the topping: Combine the flour, sugars, cardamom, cinnamon and salt in bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the topping resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the almonds, if using. Cover the bowl and chill until use. (The topping may be made up to one day in advance.)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine all of the filling ingredients together in a bowl and gently stir to combine. Spoon the filling into an 8-by-8-inch baking dish or 6 to 8 individual ramekins. Evenly cover with the topping. Transfer to the oven and bake until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes for the baking dish, 30 to 35 minutes for the ramekins.

Remove from the oven and cool to lukewarm or room temperature before serving, to allow the flavors to develop. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Prosciutto rolls are a fresh and fun start to a summery meal. The method to make them is inspired by Vietnamese spring rolls, which are packed with fresh herbs and crisp vegetables and wrapped in rice paper. These rolls are equally fresh and raw, but with an Italian twist. Salty, savory prosciutto replaces the rice paper and bundles up crisp fennel, arugula leaves, fresh mint and piquant Parmesan shards.

You can serve the rolls as a bright appetizer or as part of a small-plate meal. They do take time to assemble, but you can prepare them up to four hours in advance. Make sure that your filling ingredients are chopped and gathered before you begin rolling for ease of preparation. I prefer to halve the prosciutto slices lengthwise to make smaller bites. If you use an entire piece of prosciutto for each roll, then you will need to increase the amount of filling ingredients to offset the salt and meatiness of the prosciutto.

Once you get the hang of making these rolls, you can fiddle with the ingredients to your liking. The important thing to remember is to provide crunchy, fresh textures in the filling. You don’t want the rolls to be too flabby or gooey. Include crisp and leafy ingredients for structure and freshness, and to balance the soft, salty prosciutto. I’ve included several ingredient variations below.

Prosciutto Rolls With Arugula, Fennel and Mint

Active time: 40 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Yield: Makes 8 large or 16 small rolls

8 slices prosciutto

Extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Finely grated lemon zest from one lemon

2 cups (packed) arugula leaves

2 medium fennel bulbs, cores and fronds removed, bulbs halved lengthwise, each half thinly sliced lengthwise

4 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

16 medium-large mint leaves

For a smaller roll, halve the prosciutto slices lengthwise, so you will have 16 strips, each about 1 inch wide.

Place one strip of prosciutto on a work surface, with a short end closest to you. Lightly brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with black pepper and a pinch of lemon zest. Lay 4 to 6 arugula leaves, horizontally, at the base. Place a few shards of fennel and Parmesan over the arugula. Top with a mint leaf. Roll up from the base, wrapping the prosciutto tightly around the vegetables, and continue to roll, placing 1 or 2 additional arugula leaves in the fold as you roll up. Place the roll seam side down on a platter.

Repeat with remaining ingredients. The rolls may be prepared up to four hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let them stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Before serving, lightly spritz with olive oil or lemon juice, if desired.

Ingredient variations:

Baby spinach, sweet pepper, goat cheese, melon, mozzarella cheese, fig, brie cheese, rosemary, shredded radicchio, pear, manchego cheese, parsley

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS