Dining and Cooking
What to cook in June: Strawberry season recipes and ideas for eating outside
In Mediterranean Diet

What to cook in June: Strawberry season recipes and ideas for eating outside

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We’re in that wonderful sweet spot when the leaves are green, the flowers are blooming and it’s not yet sweltering outside. It’s the very best time of year for eating outdoors.

Part of embracing this brief stretch of great weather means spending less time in the kitchen. Fortunately, June’s produce does a lot of the work for us. We’re still enjoying spring greens like spinach and lettuce, alongside fresh herbs, asparagus, radishes and green onions.

But the real star of the month is the strawberry. Go ahead and pick up the larger basket at the market, because this list is full of ways to use the season’s sweetest fruit, including cake, cobbler, slab pie, scones and even soda.

When it comes to outdoor dining, I find myself gravitating toward two trending moods this June: “fairy garden” and “Mediterranean al fresco.”

The fairy garden approach is all about abundance and whimsy, with food that looks like it was casually assembled from a cottage garden. That can mean platters layered with fresh herbs and edible flowers, colourful rhubarb- and berry-forward desserts, and vibrant cocktails in delicate glassware.

The Mediterranean al fresco mood is a little more relaxed, featuring easy warm-weather food that’s meant to be grazed on over long conversations. The menu might include hearty picnic salads, spanakopita, simple cheese boards and other unfussy dishes built around great ingredients. So hose down the patio furniture or head to the local park with a few of these dishes to enjoy some dolce far niente, or “sweet idleness,” during this gorgeous and renewing time of year.

Strawberry cardamom yogurt cake 

Top down shot of a strawberry cake dusted with icing sugar. It's on a plate with 2 small plates with slices of the cake next to it. (Dhivya Subramanian)

Berry tiramisu 

overhead shot of a clear, rectangular baking dish filled with a tiramisu topped with sliced strawberries and blueberries. 2 bowls with slices of the tiramisu are sitting next to it. all of the dishes are sitting on a pale purple tablecloth. (Photography by Steve Giralt)

Strawberry cobbler with bourbon & brown sugar sour cream 

(Photography by Michael Gozum)

Strawberry-lime dirty soda

A hand stirring a glass with strawberry sauce on the bottom and cream on the top. (Dhivya Subramanian)

Strawberry “shortcake” drop scones 

Sliced strawberries and whipped cream in between a scone sliced in half, and topped with more whipped cream. The strawberry shortcake is sitting on a shallow pink bowl on a table with more scones and berries in the background. (CBC Life)

Strawberry-cheesecake kataifi cups

3 glasses layered with strawberries, cream and shredded phyllo pastry (Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Strawberry rhubarb custard tart 

overhead shot of a large custard tart with strawberries in it. it's on a silver platter on a table for a spring brunch with vintage plates, a bowl of strawberries, pink flowers, and stalks of rhubarb around it. (The Goods)

Herby egg salad 

An above shot of two slices of toasted bread topped with egg salad and herbs on a plate. (Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Kale salad with tahini ranch dressing

Overhead shot of a white serving platter of salad. (Photo: David Bagosy, Styling: Melissa Direnzo)

Crispy chicken, pear, and goat cheese salad with shaved root vegetables 

(Image: Dennis The Prescott)

Asparagus, leek and chickpea salad

Overhead shot of a platter with a salad of asparagus, leeks and chickpeas on a pink surface. Hands serve some of the salad onto one of the 2 small plates of salad sitting next to the platter. (Photography by Dhivya Subramanian)

Grilled radicchio salad with tahini & chive dressing 

Overhead shot of a platter of grilled radicchio topped with red onion, radish slices and tahini sauce. (CBC Life)

Ground chicken dumplings wrapped in napa cabbage leaves 

Top down shot of a white platter of dumplings with cabbage as wrappers and topped with soy sauce and green onion. They're sitting on a blue surface. (Amina Al-Saigh)

Mango and cabbage salad with gochujang-marinated tofu 

Top down shot of a big bowl of mango salad with shredded cabbage, edamame and cubes of tofu. It sits on a yellow surface with small bowls of ingredients beside it. (Dhivya Subramanian)

Mediterranean chickpea burgers

(Credit: Dennis The Prescott)

Herby labneh pasta 

Overhead shot of a bowl of pasta with a green, creamy sauce on it. (Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Spanakopita (phyllo spinach pie)

Top down shot of a sesame seed-topped phyllo spinach pie on a wooden surface. A slice is cut from it and sitting next to a knife. (Photography by Irene Matys)

The (modern) Provençal cheese plate 

Overhead shot of a plate with multiple types of cheese, roasted grapes, hazelnuts and apricots. (Photography by Joanne Pai)

Chickpea picnic salad 

Closeup on a blue patterned plate of chickpea salad sitting on a large rock. (Photography by Joanne Pai)

Mediterranean chickpea salad with jammy eggs and za’atar dressing

A platter of chickpea feta salad with boiled eggs and herbs on a countertop. Small bowls of ingredients and of the salad sit next to it. (Dhivya Subramanian)

Manakish, 2 ways: Coated with za’atar and sprinkled with cheese 

Overhead shot of 2 manakish (flatbreads) on a blue and white plate. One is topped wth za’atar and the other is sprinkled with cheese. (Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Caramelized onion pasta

Top down shot of a blue plate of bucatini with tomato sauce topped with parmesan. (Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Falafel smash tacos with tangy tahini sauce 

An overhead shot of a plate of falafel smash tacos and a small bowl of tahini sauce on a blue countertop. (Photography by Amina Al-Saigh)

Rhubarb shrub

Left: rhubarb stalks sitting on grass. Right: a glass with pink liquid and ice in it, with rhubarb stalks in the background. (Luay Ghafari)

Rhubarb shrub martini

2 glasses on marble coasters on a marble countertop. they have a pink drink in them and a rhubarb stalk in each. a pitcher of bright pink drink sits behind them, with cut rhubarb stalking laying next to it. (Photo: David Bagosy, Styling: Melissa Direnzo)

Pink grapefruit and chamomile palomas

Closeup on a glass with a Pink Grapefruit and Chamomile Paloma in it. It's got slices of grapefruit in it and is garnished with stems of chamomile. (Photography by Doan Ly)

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