Starter

If a bite of this clean, bright "pâté" transports you to a sunny beach on Nantucket, that's because it's inspired by a similar spread offered at the island's Straight Wharf Fish Store. This rendition can be whipped up effortlessly, but it's a substantial and statement-making appetizer nonetheless.

This recipe alone is reason enough to grab your tote bag and head to the farmers market. Blackberry Farm dresses up the dish with parmesan foam and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar, but the ingredients stand on their own beautifully. Slip a fried egg on top, and you have an easy summer supper.

These slender, snack-sized sandwiches, with rich rare beef, creamy avocado, lemon, and chives, will get appetites going, especially out in the fresh air.

This thick, cheesy dip is delicious with broccoli spears or bread sticks, or even as a spread on slices of bread. Serve any leftovers on baked potatoes or tossed with potato salad.

To turn this starter into a main course, top it with skewers of grilled shrimp.

The soup can also be served warm.

Try the topping on burgers or in quesadillas, too.

Pink peppercorns and peppercorn mélange (a mixture of black, pink, green, and white peppercorns) are available at many supermarkets.

A signature food of Yunnan (each town has its own version, available at every restaurant and street stall), bean jelly has the consistency of very firm Jell-O. The vinegar and chile in this dish reflect the proximity of Sichuan province. For sources for the mung-bean starch, Chinese black vinegar, and daikon.

Though it's not a true ceviche, since the scallops are already cooked when they hit the marinade, the classic combination of refreshing citrus acid from orange and lime juice, heat from jalapeño, crunch from cucumber, and sweetness from the scallops themselves becomes even more intriguing with the added layer of flavor from the grill. This is the perfect way to start off this menu, as the bold marinade stirs up the appetite for the substantial main course.

A green relish, inspired by the Yemeni cilantro sauce zhoug, is swirled into luscious, tangy Greek yogurt, so that each swipe with a strip of crunchy toasted pita or crisp bell pepper gathers a different combination of fresh, hot, and cooling flavors.

Across Southeast Asia, roadside vendors with small hibachis grill up delicious skewers and other street snacks. Inspired those fresh, tasty treats, this appetizer features grilled shrimp served with two simple yet boldly flavored dipping sauces.

Great with soup or salad — or alongside Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce.

Veal in Switzerland often presupposes sauerkraut, but we prefer a lighter take. With crunchy radishes and bitter frisée, this salad brings its vinegar note in the form of a spicy mustard dressing.

Tarragon leaves and meaty morel caps shoot up all over the Jura mountains in the spring. Here, tossed with juicy green and white asparagus — Europeans are particularly mad for the latter — they're a genuine sampling of the season.