442 starter recipes

Having some friends over? Try this quick and tasty recipe that is a great conversation starter.

Chilled raspberry and red wine soup with cranberry juice, cinnamon, and a sour cream swirl. Refreshing summer dessert soup or unexpected starter, served cold.

Herb crepes with goat's cheese stuffing: thin, chive-and-dill-flecked crepes wrapped around a tangy whipped goat cheese filling, then baked in butter. An elegant savory brunch or starter.

Salt rising bread made with a potato-cornmeal starter fermented overnight. No yeast needed. A heritage Appalachian bread with a unique cheese-like aroma and dense crumb.

Chilled summer squash soup with fresh herbs: a silky cold soup of zucchini, crookneck, and pattypan squash pureed with basil, parsley, and buttermilk. A summer lunch or starter for six.

Prune Buns are old-fashioned yeasted sweet buns filled with prune preserves - built on an overnight sponge starter and a butter-rich dough, finished with powdered sugar.

Finnish sour rye bread with a four-day natural starter, rye and white flour blend, and an egg wash finish. A dense, tangy, traditionally fermented loaf.

Turnip soup simmered in chicken consomme with bright green peas and buttery croutons. A light, elegant French-style starter that highlights an underused root vegetable.

Japanese miso soup with shrimp, kamaboko fish cake, and scallions in dashi stock. A quick, warming starter or light lunch ready in 20 minutes.

Salt-rising bread made with a potato water starter fermented overnight. A heritage Appalachian yeast bread with a distinctive tangy flavor and dense crumb.

Chilled fruit soup with spiked melon: champagne-sweetened fruit broth ladled over vodka-and-tequila-marinated melon, grapes, and plums. A grown-up summer starter built for heat waves.

Oyster and brie soup, a luxurious New Orleans-style chowder with plump oysters, melted Brie cheese, and a champagne-sherry finish. Restaurant-elegant starter for celebration dinners.

Velvety leek and potato soup with crumbled Stilton cheese melted in and a splash of tawny port for warmth. A rich, quintessentially English starter ready in 45 minutes.

Chilled cantaloupe soup with orange juice concentrate, honey, Calvados apple brandy, and cream. A stunning cold summer starter served in stemmed glasses with fresh mint.

Spinach salad with mushrooms, mozzarella, and a warm anchovy-olive oil dressing served with grilled bread toasts. A bold Italian-style starter with rich umami.

This extravagant salsa is the perfect conversation starter at dinner parties. Can be served with tortilla chips and on burgers.