170 starter recipes

Chilled orange mango soup with pureed ripe mangoes, buttermilk, fresh orange juice, honey, and orange zest. A creamy no-cook cold fruit soup served as an elegant summer starter.

Real egg shells hollowed out and filled with dark chocolate hazelnut ganache, then chilled and served in egg cups. A stunning conversation-starter dessert for Easter or dinner parties.

Welsh mussel pate with herring roe, brandy, cream, and dill, baked in a bain-marie until set. A rich, briny seafood starter from the Menai Strait served on toast fingers.

Hungarian sour cherry soup (meggyleves): a chilled summer soup of cherries, sugar, cinnamon, dry red wine, and heavy cream. Served cold, sweet, and tangy as a starter or light dessert.

Citrus soup frappe: a chilled, lightly jellied dessert soup of orange, raspberry, and lemon juices laced with red wine, Sauterne, and kirsch. A vintage Continental starter or palate-cleansing finale.

Crayfish and poached quail egg salad pairs court-bouillon-poached crayfish with delicate soft quail eggs over greens, dressed in a truffle and dill vinaigrette. An elegant composed seafood starter.

Cucumber yogurt soup is a cool, no-cook summer starter blended with fresh dill, garlic, scallions, and tangy yogurt. Light, herbaceous, and ready in 10 minutes plus a chill. The answer to a sweltering afternoon.

Chilled cucumber soup, a creamy cold starter of cucumbers simmered with leek, celery, and sherry, thickened and enriched with light cream, then brightened with a splash of orange juice. Cool and elegant.

Asparagus vichyssoise made in the microwave with fresh asparagus, potatoes, and skim milk. This light, low-fat cold soup is blended silky-smooth and chilled overnight for a refreshing make-ahead starter.

Chilled cantaloupe soup blended with fresh mint, white wine, and yogurt. A no-cook summer starter with just 5 ingredients that needs only a blender and a couple hours to chill.

A chilled Scandinavian-style fruit soup made with berries simmered in warm spices, thickened with cornstarch, and stirred into sour cream and milk. Served cold as a starter or light dessert.

A chilled Scandinavian-style fruit soup simmered with prunes, raisins, apples, cherries, and citrus, thickened with tapioca and finished with grape juice. Serve cold as a refreshing starter or light dessert.

Chilled melon soup with cantaloupe, honeydew, champagne, and a drizzle of honey, served in iced bowls with whipped cream and mint. A no-cook summer starter that feels like a celebration.

Homemade yogurt in a thermos: just milk and a spoonful of starter yogurt, cultured 7 hours in a warm thermos for thick, tangy results. No yogurt maker needed, served with fresh raspberries.

Creamy leek soup blends sauteed leeks and onion with vegetable stock, then enriches with a butter-flour-milk-cream bechamel. Smooth, silky pureed soup for a cool-weather starter or light lunch.

Broiled eggplant topped with a creamy Mediterranean walnut sauce spiked with crushed fennel seed and garlic. A rustic vegetarian starter or side dish that makes produce-section eggplant taste like a proper restaurant plate.