Our collection of 30 recipes to make in June 2025, the first month of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south, includes a mx of recipes for everyone, wherever you are, and no matter what the weather. These are the 30 recipes we think you should make this June, whether you’re using a food day as an excuse to cook a dish you love or ingredient you enjoy using, or you’re cooking for a casual gathering of family or friends, or making a meal for one or two.
For this compilation of 30 recipes to make in June 2025 we’ve got dishes for everyone, whether you’re entering summer or winter. Our summery recipes include a classic Mexican shrimp cocktail, cooling Eastern European cucumber sour cream salad, our Southeast Asian take on san choi bao Chinese lettuce cups, Thai corn fritter breakfast burgers, a Cypriot watermelon tomato halloumi salad, Greek pan-fried feta with honey and herbs, smoky Cambodian grilled corn cobs with coconut sauce, and a collection of 85 picnic food ideas.
For our readers in the southern hemisphere, where winter is starting, we’ve got recipes for a hearty traditional Russian beef stew for solyanka, one of my best stew recipes, Terence’s sausage roll and meat pie recipes, a creamy basil pesto gnocchi from northern Italy, a Scottish chicken and leek soup, and Lao khao soi, a delicious filling Laotian soup with wide rice noodles and a rich, hearty sauce of deeply flavoured pork mince and tomatoes, often described by foreign travellers to Luang Prabang as a Lao style ragu Bolognese soup.
If you don’t find cooking inspiration in this round-up, do browse our recipe archives, which is brimming with 15 years of recipes we’ve cooked, created and collected around the world, from places we’ve lived, worked, travelled, and loved. Or peruse our compilation of the most popular recipes of May, which are the top recipes our readers searched for, spent time on, and hopefully cooked.
Before you scroll down to our 30 recipes to cook in June 2025, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by supporting our epic Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon; buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; booking a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or by buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers, classic cookbooks for serious cooks, or gifts for Asian food lovers and picnic lovers. Now let’s tell you about our 30 recipes to cook in June.
30 Recipes to Make in June 2025 from Summery Salads to Wintery Soups
These are the 30 recipes to make in June 2025, whether you’re using a food day as an excuse to cook a dish you love, you’re cooking for a casual gathering of family or friends, or you’re making a meal for one or two. As it’s the start of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south, we have something for everyone, wherever you are, and no matter what the weather.
Classic Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe for Coctel de Camarones
It’s the 1st June and it’s Sunday, so we’re kicking off our list of 30 recipes to make in June 2025 with a classic Mexican shrimp cocktail recipe for coctel de camarones. One of our best Mexican recipes and one of our best shrimp recipes, if you’re a seafood lover and a fan of a retro prawn cocktail then you’ll also love this.
It makes the kind of prawn cocktails in tall old-fashioned glasses that you’ll be served in Mexico at marisquerias – restaurants, eateries and market stalls specialising in mariscos (seafood), from ceviche and seafood soups and stews to fried seafood and grilled fish, and at or Mexican seafood restaurants in Mexico city and beyond.
In Mexico City’s markets, where I first became addicted to Mexican shrimp cocktails, they come in the sort of glasses that ice cream parlours served sundaes in back in the day – the glasses I blissfully scooped plump prawns out of coated in a spicy tomato sauce on our first trip to Mexico, vowing I’d live off those the entire six-week holiday.
Traditionally served chilled, this Mexican shrimp cocktail makes for a cooling appetiser to kick off a seafood feast and is the perfect treat on a sweltering hot day – especially washed down with icy Mexican beers. If the weather’s cold where you are, it’s worth turning up the heat. Buy a bottle of tequila, make some margaritas, or fill the fridge with your Mexican beer of choice and make micheladas. Put on some mariachi music, and you’re set.
Classic Mexican Shrimp Cocktail Recipe for Coctel de Camarones
Roasted Broccoli Recipe with Zucchini, Green Beans and Sesame Seeds
Next on our list of 30 recipes to make in June 2025, this quick and easy roast broccoli recipe makes a delicious and healthy vegetable side dish that cooks in no time. Roasted broccoli, zucchini and green beans are quickly roasted on high heat, seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, piled onto a creamy butter bean spread, and showered with sesame seeds. I also like to sprinkle on some chilli flakes.
It’s a brilliant side to roast chicken or a salmon tray bake. If you’re a lover of broccoli, you’ll adore this. And if you are a fan of broccoli, you also need to make my broccoli soup with cheddar, potato, crispy bacon and crunchy croutons, which I’m completely addicted to.
I really love to serve this with succulent braised chicken with olives and capers and a salad, such as this radish cucumber salad with feta, rucola and fresh herbs or sides of roasted cauliflower on hummus with crispy chickpeas and pickled shallots, and either Hassleback potatoes or creamy mashed potatoes.
Roasted Broccoli Recipe with Zucchini, Green Beans and Sesame Seeds
Bacon and Egg Yaki Udon Recipe for Japanese Fried Udon Noodles
This bacon and egg yaki udon recipe makes my idea of a deliciously-hearty Japanese noodle breakfast. I shared my bacon and egg yaki udon recipe for Weekend Eggs, our 15-year-old series of recipes for egg dishes from around the world. Sharing it here now because 3 June is National Egg Day.
Not a traditional Japanese yaki udon recipe, this breakfast or brunch yaki udon was inspired by cravings, my indecisive nature, and the need to use some leftover mushrooms and bacon. But there’s nothing stopping you from making this for a weeknight meal if you’re also a fan of breakfast for dinner.
My recipe takes inspiration from classic Japanese fried udon noodles and tamago kake gohan or Japanese egg on rice. The udon noodles are fried with bacon and mushrooms and served with an egg yolk stirred into the piping-hot noodles before eating, although you could certainly use fried eggs or jammy soft-boiled eggs.
If you’re frying your eggs, we use one of these small single-egg frying pans, not only to maintain the round shape, but also to control the doneness of the eggs, which you can’t do with egg rings in a larger pan. If you’re boiling your eggs, see Terence’s guide to boiling perfect eggs every time.
Bacon and Egg Yaki Udon Recipe for Japanese Fried Udon Noodles for Weekend Eggs
Greek Pan Fried Feta Recipe with Honey and Herbs for Feta Saganaki
June 4 is National Cheese Day and I’ll be sharing a collection of our best recipes with cheese very soon. In the meantime, if you’re a fan of Greek feta cheese and looking for more things to make with feta cheese than a Greek salad, then try this recipe for Greek pan-fried feta with honey and herbs for feta saganaki. It’s one of our best Greek recipes and another of our 30 recipes to make in June 2025.
I’ve adapted the recipe (ever so slightly) from Philoxenia, A Seat at My Table by Kon and Sia Karapanagiotidis, who I met last year at Bendigo Writer’s Festival. I’ve been cooking from their beautiful cookbook of vegan and vegetarian Greek kitchen recipes a lot and their recipes are often super simple yet incredibly delicious. I highly recommend the book.
This pan fried feta is so quick and easy to make that you’ll be eating it in 20 minutes or less. You can serve it as a snack or if you’re cooking up a Greek feast, serve it as a meze (appetiser) with an array of mezedes, such as taramosalata (fish roe dip), tzatziki (yoghurt cucumber dip), this eggplant dip, or roasted cherry tomatoes on goat’s cheese. Or just serve it with a Greek salad and keftedes (meatballs) or chicken souvlaki, char-grilled Greek chicken skewers.
Greek Pan Fried Feta Recipe with Honey and Herbs for Feta Saganaki
Homemade Curried Beef Sausage Rolls Recipe
National Sausage Roll Day is on 5 June, so I thought I’d share our best sausage rolls recipes. This homemade curried beef sausage rolls recipe with Cambodian Saraman curry is made with the puff pastry of a normal sausage roll, but instead of the traditional sausage roll spices, Terence uses Cambodian Saraman curry paste to flavour the beef mince.
If you love a good sausage roll you are going to love these spicy beef sausage rolls. The Cambodian Saraman curry is the richest of Cambodian curries and most complex. A cousin to Thailand’s Massaman curry and Malaysia’s beef rendang, Saraman curry is a time-consuming curry to make, which is why it’s often considered to be a special occasion dish in Cambodia.
We’ve got lots more sausage roll and meat pie recipes, including classic Aussie sausage rolls, sausage rolls with eggplant and pork based on Cambodia’s char-grilled eggplant and minced pork, a curry beef pie made, also made with a Saraman curry, a spicy pork minced pie filled with prahok k’tis, a rich pork mince, prahok, coconut cream, and pea eggplant dip, and a curried chicken pie inspired by the gently-spiced Cambodian chicken curry.
Homemade Curried Beef Sausage Rolls Recipe Made With Cambodian Saraman Curry
Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe with Fried Egg and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
It’s also Veggie Burger Day on 5 June, which is a good excuse to make our recipe for a corn fritter breakfast burger with fried egg and Thai sweet chilli sauce. It makes an incredibly delicious vegetarian breakfast burger that’s packed with flavour and crunch. It’s one of our best burger recipes and another of our 30 recipes to make in June 2025.
With a Southeast Asian twist on the classic breakfast burger, it’s so good you won’t miss the burger patty and bacon, and the grease that comes with it, one bit. If you made our Thai corn fritters recipe and you have a batch of our homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce in the fridge, then you’re all set to go.
Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe with Fried Egg and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Cambodian Pork Meatballs Recipe for Wraps, Rolls, Soups, Salads and Sandwiches
One of our best meatballs recipes, this Cambodian pork meatballs recipe makes a juicy meatball that’s flavourful and fragrant from some of Cambodia’s most quintessential ingredients, used in a Khmer kroeung or herb and spice paste, including ginger, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime, and lemongrass.
Petite in size, these moist, perfumed pork meatballs are perfect for wrapping in lettuce leaves with loads of fresh fragrant herbs; rolling up in rice paper with plump shrimp or prawns, rice noodles or vermicelli, basil, mint and coriander; adding to Cambodian rice porridge, borbor, or noodle soups such as Cambodia’s kuy teav; and squeezing into crunchy num pang, Cambodia’s popular baguette sandwich akin to Vietnam’s banh mi.
Cambodian Pork Meatballs Recipe for Wraps, Rolls, Soups, Salads and Sandwiches
Best Middle Eastern Recipes for Hummus, Fattoush, Kofta and More
The 3-day holiday of Eid al Adha starts on 6 June and runs until 8 June, so we thought we’d share this collection of our best Middle Eastern recipes with you. It includes recipes for everything from Middle Eastern mezze, such as the hummus dips and snacks served as starters and appetisers made to be shared, from this hummus with spiced beef to muhammara and baba ganoush, and Middle Eastern salads such as fattoush, tabbouleh and hummus balila, a creamy cumin-spiced hummus and fresh chopped garden salad.
This compilation of our best Middle Eastern recipes includes the dishes from the Middle East that we’ve long loved to cook and eat from our chicken shawarma recipe for richly spiced succulent chicken thigh pieces pan-fried in minutes to replicate the flavour of traditional chicken shawarma, to Middle Eastern fatteh, a rustic home-style breakfast dish of crispy pita with spiced chickpeas and yogurt sauce, often likened to a Middle Eastern nachos or chilaquiles.
We’ve also got recipes for quintessential Middle Eastern dishes such as beef kofta, shish tawook, spiced meatballs, and batata harra, the Lebanese spicy potatoes served with garlic sauce and fresh coriander. We lived in the Middle East, and travelled the region for work and pleasure for a decade, and know the cuisines and culture intimately, so we guarantee you that these are delicious and authentic recipes from the region.
Best Middle Eastern Recipes for Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Fattoush, Kofta and More
Easiest Sourdough Bread Recipe
The weekend is here so we’ve got a cooking project that you could begin today, or any day this month. Terence’s simple sourdough bread recipe is essentially a beginner’s guide to baking sourdough bread and it’s another of our best 30 recipes to make in June 2025.
If you’re embarking on your sourdough journey for the first time, Terence’s guide is the best. He’s been making sourdough for close to a decade now. And baking sourdough bread in a toaster oven, and baking in the humidity of Cambodia, so if he can pull perfect loaves out of the oven every time, so can you.
If you have been gifted with sourdough starter that’s ready to bake, jump into this guide. If not, head to Terence’s easy sourdough starter recipe to learn how to make a sourdough starter ready to bake. While making sourdough this way takes time, it requires little effort, and no real kneading, and it’s tremendously satisfying.
And once you get the hang of the sourdough baking basics, see Terence’s tips on how to bake the perfect sourdough loaf, and how you can start using that sourdough starter discard to make some of our sourdough starter discard recipes. We’ve got everything from sourdough crumpets (OMG, they are so good!) to sourdough scallion pancakes recipe (also delish!).
Simple Sourdough Bread Recipe – Beginners Guide to Baking Sourdough Bread
Traditional Russian Beef Stew Recipe for Solyanka
This traditional Russian stew recipe for solyanka makes a hearty stew and it’s one of my best stew recipes, based on my Russian-Ukrainian family recipe. First mentioned in written form in the 15th century, although thought to be far older, solyanka started out as a village dish or ‘peasant food’, so may have been thinner than my baboushka’s rendition.
A medieval dish made for modern times: it’s a one-pot dish that’s filling and comforting, and has long been thought to have been invented to use up leftovers. That explains all the bits and pieces, why some solyanka recipes call for several kinds of meats and sausages, and ingredients such as dill pickle juice. It’s garnished with plenty of fresh fragrant dill and eaten with sour cream (smetana), dill pickles, and black bread.
It’s the kind of dish that my baboushka would have served as part of a family feast – one dish of many that would have covered the dining table and might have included piroshki, a classic Russian garden salad, Russian pelmeni stuffed with ground meat, Ukrainian potato filled vareniki, stuffed cabbage rolls, beetroot potato salad, and maybe chicken kotleti.
Fellow stew lover? Try our recipes for a deeply flavoured old-fashioned chicken stew, a Spanish rabo de toro oxtail stew, a French cassoulet, Terence’s tomato bredie, a classic Cape Town stew, a traditional Irish beef stew, an Irish beef and Guinness stew with dumplings, the Hungarian stew called porkolt (often confused with goulash), a Cambodian pork stew with star anise and ginger, and my chorizo, cabbage and three bean stew (a spicy take on kapusniak).
Traditional Russian Beef Stew Recipe for Solyanka, a Medieval Dish for Modern Times
Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe for Southeast Asian San Choi Bao
June 10 is National Herb and Spices Day. What better dish to celebrate a day dedicated to herbs and spices than these spicy chicken lettuce wraps with fresh herbs for a Southeast Asian take on the Chinese lettuce cups called san choi bao. Originating from Southern China and Hong Kong, san choi bao was popularised in Chinese-Australian restaurants.
Our minced chicken lettuce cups take inspiration from northern Southeast Asia, our home since 2011, from both savoury larbs (minced meat salads) and the local custom of wrapping street food snacks in lettuce. If you’re a lover of Thai chicken larb or Cambodian pork larb, and other ground pork dishes, minced beef dishes and ground chicken dishes, then you’ll love these spicy chicken lettuce wraps.
And if you’re not a fan of chicken, you can easily swap out the minced chicken for ground beef or minced pork, or even ground lamb. If there was one positive to come from the pandemic, we all learnt to keep a supply of minced meat in the freezer for an emergency. Ground meat was the perfect quarantine cooking ingredient – versatile and affordable and it freezes well.
Ground meat also makes great dishes that make even better leftovers (hello, ragu Bolognese!) and wondrous things such as chilli con carne, which can be stretched out over multiple dishes and meals (a good old bowl of chilli, quesadillas, and nachos, for starters). You could also make vegetarian versions with pan-fried diced mushrooms or tofu.
Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe for a Southeast Asian Take on San Choi Bao
Cambodian Grilled Corn Recipe for Poat Dot with Coconut Milk Sauce
June 11 is National Corn on the Cob Day so we’re sharing this recipe for smoky Cambodian grilled corn on the cob called poat dot for a Cambodian street food snack of barbecued corn on the cob that’s brushed with a delightfully sweet and salty sauce made from coconut milk, fish sauce and spring onions. It’s another of our 30 recipes to make in June 2025.
Our poat dot recipe makes the street food treat that’s hugely popular during corn season, and with good reason! The corn on the cob is continually brushed with the delightfully creamy salty-sweet sauce as it’s being barbecued, giving it so much flavour.
And if corn season has started wherever you are, then browse our best summer corn recipes. We’ve got easy recipes for Southeast Asian inspired grilled corn on the cobs with lime, butter and lemongrass mayonnaise and a grilled corn salad with lime, chilli, lemongrass mayo, and croutons. We also have Mexican street corn dishes for Mexican grilled corn on the cob or elotes, a Mexican grilled corn salad, and the Mexican corn in a cup or esquites or elotes en vaso.
Cambodian Grilled Corn Recipe for Poat Dot with a Delicious Coconut Milk Sauce
Scottish Chicken and Leek Soup Recipe
Terence’s Cullen skink soup recipe is one of our most popular recipes right now and it’s incredibly delicious. Made from smoked haddock, potatoes, onions, and leeks, it’s named after the town of Cullen on the coast of northeast Scotland, and is typically served at Burns Suppers, dinners to celebrate the life and poetry of Scottish poet Robert Burns.
Terence shared that recipe during our two weeks in Edinburgh back in 2010, during our yearlong global grand tour dedicated to slow, local and experiential travel that launched Grantourismo. Terence made venison loin, haggis and roasted vegetables at the suggestion of Scottish food editor Donald Reid, for a wee dinner in our elegant Edinburgh apartment rental, for a lighter take on the hearty haggis, neeps and tatties historically served at a Burns Dinner.
A Scottish cock-a-leekie is another soup that features on Burns Supper menus. While a traditional cock-a-leekie recipe calls for a whole chicken, my easy chicken leek soup recipe makes a speedy version by using shredded poached chicken or rotisserie chicken leftovers, which saves time without sacrificing flavour. The 2nd June is International Chicken Rotisserie Day (seriously) so there’s an excuse to make this soul-nourishing soup.
You’ll love this chicken and leek soup if you’re a lover of chicken soups. And if you are, do try some of our best chicken soup recipes, which include recipes for chicken noodle soups, spicy chicken soups, chicken rice soups, and more; everything from the Burmese chicken coconut noodle soup, ohn no khao swe, to hearty Russian soups, such as rassolnik, a barley pickle soup with chicken.
Chicken Leek Soup Recipe for an Easy Scottish Cock-a-Leekie Soup
Basil Pesto Gnocchi Recipe with Homemade Pesto alla Genovese Sauce
This creamy basil pesto gnocchi recipe includes a recipe for homemade pesto alla Genovese sauce based on the official recipe from Liguria in northern Italy, birthplace of basil pesto or pesto alla Genovese. It includes just seven ingredients: fresh Italian basil, extra virgin olive oil, Parmigiano and Pecorino cheese, salt, garlic, and pine nuts. We drop tender pillows of gnocchi into the creamy aromatic pasta sauce.
If you adore basil pesto as much as I do and you’ve eaten pesto alla Genovese in Italy, you’ll know that store-bought pesto just doesn’t taste like fresh Ligurian pesto. I’ve tried almost every supermarket brand pesto over the past year and homemade basil pesto is far more delicious. Make this basil pesto gnocchi recipe, easily one of our best pasta recipes, and, trust me, you might never buy a jar of pesto again.
Pesto lover? Do try our recipes for basil pesto pasta with potatoes and beans (the pesto dish I fell for on our first trip to Genoa many years ago, but made with fusilli instead of trofie), my pesto spaghetti and meatballs with peas and broccoli, a pesto potato salad, this pan-fried asparagus with pesto hummus, our pesto scrambled eggs, my cherry tomato burrata salad with asparagus, basil pesto and dukkah, this broccoli pasta with a creamy broccoli pesto sauce, and my Southeast Asian pesto.
And if you’re a gnocchi lover, try my creamy tomato pasta sauce with gnocchi made in just ten minutes, this asparagus, mushrooms, bacon and Parmesan gnocchi, my crispy pan fried gnocchi with bacon and broccoli and this pan fried pumpkin gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce.
Basil Pesto Gnocchi Recipe with Homemade Pesto alla Genovese Sauce
Lao Khao Soi Recipe for Laotian Soup with Ragu Bolognese Style Sauce
In Southeast Asia, we slurp noodle soups no matter what the weather. In the cooler months the steaming bowls of broth warm you, and during hot weather your perspiration keeps you cool. This Lao khao soi recipe makes one of our favourite Southeast Asian noodle soup recipes, a delicious filling Laotian soup with wide rice noodles and a rich, hearty sauce of deeply flavoured pork mince, tomatoes and fermented soy beans.
Often described as a Luang Prabang style ragu Bolognese soup, it’s one of our best Asian street food recipes. This Lao khao soi recipe is one that Terence has been perfecting for years, since we first tasted Luang Prabang-style lao khao soi on our first trip to Laos many years ago. After introducing us to ‘cat poo’ biscuits, our guide Bounmee pointed out a simple noodle joint in a dilapidated shed that he claimed made the best Lao khao soi in Luang Prabang.
As soon as our tour of Luang Prabang’s glittering pagodas with Boonmee ended, we made a beeline for the timber and corrugated iron shack on Manomai Road and the best Lao khao soi we’ve ever eaten. Admittedly, at the time it was the only Lao khao soi we’d ever eaten, as we were new to the cuisine of Laos and Laotion cooking ;) Up until we discovered Lao khao soi, we’d only known and loved the creamy coconut milk-based Chiang Mai khao soi.
And we hadn’t yet made the connection between that and Myanmar’s ohn no kauk swe, another coconut curry noodle soup, typically made with chicken and served with fried noodles on top. Lao khao soi is now up there with our favourite noodle soup recipes. Make sure to serve it with fresh greens and herbs and a tray of condiments on the table. It’s a dish that’s meant to be customised.
Lao Khao Soi Recipe for the Laotian Soup with a Ragu Bolognese Style Sauce
Red Chilaquiles Recipe with Fried Eggs for Mexican Chilaquiles Rojos con Huevos Fritos
Our Mexican red chilaquiles recipe with fried eggs for chilaquiles rojos con huevos fritos makes a popular Mexican comfort food eaten for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or supper. Invented to make use of stale corn tortillas, it’s easy to prepare, versatile, and this version is vegetarian. It’s another of our top 30 recipes to make in June 2025.
When I first fell in love with Mexican chilaquiles – which are homemade tortilla chips, called totopos in Mexico, made from frying stale corn tortillas, which are cooked in salsa, and served with Mexican cotija and crema – it was chilaquiles verdes or green chilaquiles with shredded chicken to which I’d become completely addicted.
Oh my, those chilaquiles were so good. It was at the retro charmer Café la Blanca in Mexico City back in the mid- to late-1990s and I also became smitten with their red chilaquiles or chilaquiles rojos, cooked in a red salsa or salsa roja. The sauce was a lightly-spiced tomato-based salsa made with fresh jalapeño chillies.
Fan of Mexican food? We’ve got more Mexican recipes for everything from a sopa de tortilla we learnt to make in this Mexican Cooking Class at San Miguel de Allende to our ultimate nachos, which is my take on the ‘loaded’ American iteration of the far simpler Northern Mexican dish, and our Tex-Mex chilli con carne, which Terence has been making since we first moved in together many years ago. Wash it all down with classic margaritas or micheladas.
Red Chilaquiles Recipe with Fried Eggs for Mexican Chilaquiles Rojos con Huevos Fritos
Fathers Day Dinner Ideas for Crispy-Skinned Salmon, Cote de Boeuf, Brined Pork and More
June 15 is Fathers Day in the USA, the Americas, UK, and some European and some Asian countries, unlike Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific countries, which celebrate Father’s Day in September. As our readers come from right around the world, here on Grantourismo we share our Fathers Day recipes twice a year.
For those of you celebrating mid-June, we’ve got Fathers Day Fathers Day breakfast and brunch ideas, Fathers Day lunch ideas and Fathers Day dinner ideas, below. If you’re keeping things casual, we’ve got recipes for a feast of Spanish tapas or a buffet-style spread of Basque pintxos.
If you’re planning a fancier sit-down Father’s Day meal, then we recipes for everything from succulent braised chicken with olives and capers and crunchy with Hassleback potatoes, crispy skinned salmon fillet with colcannon, a melt-in-the-mouth five-spice crispy pork belly, and an incredibly juicy pan-roasted, brined and marinated pork chops with creamy mash, and a richly spiced Russian beef Stroganoff for a Father’s Day dinner dad won’t forget.
But my best recommendation for a truly memorable meal is this fragrant, flavoursome cote de boeuf courtesy of superstar French Chef Pierre Gagnaire. We met the chef when we were flies on the wall of Pierre Gagnaire’s Dubai restaurant kitchen for a night for a magazine story.
The chef invited us to dine at his Paris restaurant when we were next in the city, which happened to be during our 2010 yearlong global grand tour that launched this site, when we settled into Montmartre for two weeks. Terence made Pierre’s cote de boeuf for his series The Dish and it’s long been one of our most popular recipes.
Fathers Day Dinner Ideas for Crispy-Skinned Salmon, Cote de Boeuf, Brined Pork and More
Best Vegetable Side Dish Recipes
June 16 is Fresh Veggies Day so rather than share one vegetable side dish, I thought I’d share this collection of recipes for our best vegetable side dishes. They’re wonderful with chicken dishes such as this Mediterranean style braised chicken with olives and capers or my juicy crispy-skinned roast chicken infused with Southeast Asian flavours.
They’d also be fantastic served with these succulent pan-roasted brined pork chops or alongside a great steak or Terence’s aromatic côte de bœuf, which came courtesy of Michelin-starred French chef Pierre Gagnaire, who shared the recipe with us when we were in Paris.
Some of my favourite veggie sides in that compilation are these crunchy green beans with crispy breadcrumbs and parmesan, Terence’s ultra creamy mashed potatoes, my char-grilled baby corn with pistachios and caramelised onions on creamy butter beans, and our Middle Eastern style roast cauliflower on creamy hummus with crispy fried chickpeas, tangy pickled shallots, and fragrant fresh mint.
Best Vegetable Side Dishes for Shared Family-Style Meals and Holiday Feasts
Cypriot Watermelon Tomato Halloumi Salad Recipe
You’ll love this recipe for a watermelon tomato halloumi salad from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, if you’re a fan of the fruit and cheese combination in salads and starters – the best representation of that match being the Caprese salad of buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, from another Mediterranean island, Capri, off the coast of Southern Italy.
I know some baulk at combining tomatoes and watermelon, but tomatoes are also a fruit, after all. Both are juicy fruits, but while cherry tomatoes burst in the mouth, chilled watermelon pieces melt deliciously, especially on a sweltering day. The salty chewy slices of pan-fried halloumi provide a wonderful contrast of texture and flavours, while the red onion or purple shallots bring crunch and bite, and the herbs give fragrance and freshness.
Serve this salad with gently spiced Cypriot meatballs or barbecued or grilled meats, such as smoky char-grilled chicken skewers for Greek souvlaki with the Greek cucumber and yoghurt dip, tzatziki. For a proper Mediterranean feast, start with meze such as homemade taramosalata and a Greek red pepper feta dip, and make a couple more salads, such as this Cypriot village salad, a classic Greek salad or Greek blistered cherry tomatoes on goats cheese.
I shared this watermelon tomato halloumi salad recipe as part of a series of recipes for the salads I had on rotation over summer, including this Italian melon, buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto salad (a fancier version of prosciutto e melone, the classic aperitivo snack and appetiser from Italy), this refreshing Greek watermelon feta salad with fresh mint and dill, and a Mediterranean style chicken salad with spring vegetables and a garlicky lemony Middle Eastern dressing.
Refreshing Watermelon Tomato Halloumi Salad Recipe from Cyprus
85 Picnic Food Ideas from Frittatas to Fried Chicken
June 18 is International Picnic Day so I’m sharing this collection of 85 picnic food ideas, which cover the gamut of picnic staples, including picnic dips, crackers, breads, frittatas, salads, fried and roast chicken. We’ve also got homemade condiments and pickles, easy picnic ideas such as soups, finger food and savoury pastries, along with Southeast Asian style spring rolls, Vietnamese banh mi, and pies and sausage rolls with a twist.
I have to confess that there are few things I love more than a picnic in a park by the water with dear friends. We enjoyed picnics so regularly when we were young and lived in Sydney that they were almost a ritual. We don’t picnic nearly enough these days and yet I’ve certainly upped my picnic game.
When we were young we’d buy rotisserie chickens from the nearest take-away, make a salad or two, hit a deli or supermarket for dips and cold cuts, and the bakery for a few baguettes. Our picnics were more about catching up with friends rather than eating good food. But they can be both. Given the chance these days, I’d happily spend a day cooking up a storm for a picnic with loved-ones.
85 Picnic Food Ideas from Frittatas and Fried Chicken to Chilled Soups and Spring Rolls
Thai Khao Tang Na Tang for a Chilli Prawn and Pork Dip on Rice Cakes
Another of our best 30 recipes to make in June 2025, this recipe for Thai khao tang na tang on rice cakes makes a chilli prawn and pork dip that’s incredibly delicious. The popular Thai dish consists of homemade crispy rice crackers that are used to scoop up this creamy, slightly sweet, a little salty, and gently-spiced dip.
Found in both Thailand and Siem Reap, this is one of those dishes found in both Thai and Cambodian cuisines due to their shared histories and centuries of travel of dishes and ingredients between the two countries. Many believe this snack was created to use up leftover rice, which was made into rice cakes.
As with the Cambodian natang recipe that we shared from our Siem Reap kitchen, along with another favourite Cambodian dip, prahok k’tis, this recipe for khao tang na tang on rice cakes for a chilli prawn and pork dip from Thailand makes for a very moreish snack. Once you start tucking into this dip, it’s very hard to stop.
Thai Khao Tang Na Tang on Rice Cakes for a Chilli Prawn and Pork Dip Recipe
Beef Lok Lak Recipe for Cambodian Pepper Beef Canapés
This modern beef lok lak recipe delivers a delicious classic Cambodian pepper beef dish, prepared traditionally with Kampot pepper, but presented in a more contemporary form. This popular Cambodian dish, which for many Cambodians is their national dish, was one of the inspirations for an array of creative Cambodian canapés we created for a New Year’s Eve spread some years ago.
While the presentation of this dish was modern for our canapés, the recipe makes an authentic traditional Cambodian dish, albeit one whose provenance is often debated. It’s believed that Cambodia’s beef lok lak is of Vietnamese origin as there’s a near-identical Vietnamese dish called thit bo luc lac. The Vietnamese dish has virtually the same name, which Vietnamese chefs translate to ‘shaking beef’, because the cook has to shake the wok or pan back and forth to evenly sear the beef.
Beef Lok Lak Recipe for Cambodian Pepper Beef, A Modern Take on a Traditional Dish
Thai Corn Salad Recipe for a Perfect Side for Thai Style Fried Chicken
This easy Thai corn salad recipe makes a fantastic filling salad that is the perfect light summer lunch or an ideal side for dinner when paired with spicy Thai fried chicken. Our recipe makes a simple tossed salad that’s based on a popular Bangkok-style som tam pounded salad with corn. It’s a fantastic use of the last of the fresh summer corn, although you can also use canned can. And we’ve got canned corn recipes here.
Summer for me means corn season and time to binge on my favourite summer corn recipes made with locally-grown seasonal corn. Cambodian corn comes in all kinds of colours and forms, from a pale lemon-coloured corn that is stodgy and chalky, which I really don’t like at all, to a sweet firm yellow corn that I could munch on until I grew husks.
Our easy Thai corn salad recipe makes fantastic use of our seasonal corn here in Cambodia, making a light yet filling salad that is perfect for a sultry summer lunch in between swims. It’s also ideal for a casual dinner as a side dish for spicy Thai-style fried chicken – which is exactly what we tucked into last night. Recipe for the Thai fried chicken coming very soon.
If you’re a lover of corn salads, try our recipes for an easy Middle Eastern inspired corn salad with bacon, pearl couscous, parsley, and fried shallots on yoghurt, our Mexican grilled corn salad with Mexican cheese, chilli, coriander, and lime, and this Thai take on an American cobb salad, a recipe by Thai chef Ian Kittichai.
Thai Corn Salad Recipe for a Perfect Side for Thai Style Fried Chicken
Pan-Roasted Brined and Marinated Pork Chops Recipe for the Juiciest Pork Chops Ever
Terence’s pan-roasted brined and marinated pork chops recipe is a recipe that defies the notion that pork chops are generally dry and bland. Using a simple brining technique combined with a spicy marinade, the bland pork chop is transformed into a succulent and zesty main course. It’s another of our 30 recipes to make in June 2025.
Make sure to use chops that are thicker than 3 cm or roughly 1 inch thick as you have more chance of getting a good sear and not overcooking the chops. Do use an instant-read thermometer. If the chops are not up to 50°C in the pan before the basting stage, place them in an oven at 200°C for around 5 mins. But use a thermometer to check, as you don’t want to go over 57°C before resting.
One of the tips Terence picked up years ago for making char siu pork is to use a meat tenderiser. This is not the meat tenderiser that is like a hammer to thin out and tenderise fillets, like say for pork tonkatsu, but one that leaves small incisions in the meat to allow the flavour to more quickly penetrate the meat than, say, a four-hour marinade.
Note that just like our perenially-popular Cote de Boeuf recipe, the leftovers almost make buying bigger, better, thicker cuts worthwhile. A sandwich made with leftover pork, fresh sourdough bread, some spicy rocket (rucola) leaves, and some great old style Maille Grain Dijon Mustard is a thing of beauty.
Pan-Roasted, Brined and Marinated Pork Chops Recipe for the Juiciest Pork Chops Ever
Antalya Style Turkish White Bean Salad Recipe with Jammy Soft Boiled Eggs
This Antalya style Turkish white bean salad recipe with jammy soft boiled eggs makes you my take on Antalya usulü piyaz – a Turkish white bean salad made the Antalya way. Traditionally, the cold, soupy, garlicky white beans are topped with tomatoes, onions and hard-boiled eggs. It’s different to fasulye piyazi, the traditional Turkish bean salad you may have eaten at restaurants in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey.
I blend the white beans for a hummus-style butter bean dip, pile on a salad of cherry tomatoes, purple shallots and fresh herbs, and top it all with jammy eggs. It’s one of our best canned beans recipes if you’re looking for budget-friendly meals during these fiscally challenging times.
Antalya piyaz is the most quintessential dish of Antalya, a beautiful beachside city on the Mediterranean in southwest Turkey, where we spent some months writing up guidebooks in an Ottoman house in the Old Town years ago. Also called tahinli piyaz, as the white bean sauce is made with tahini, it’s on the menu at almost every Antalya eatery. It’s customarily served with köfte or Turkish meatballs, when the meal is called köfte piyaz.
Going out to eat köfte piyaz or taking it away to eat at home or on a picnic in one of Antalya’s many seaside parks is something of a local ritual. A typical order would include charred roasted green peppers, a side salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, salty yogurt drinks called ayran (a must with köfte) and tatlı, traditional Turkish desserts.
Antalya Style Turkish White Bean Salad Recipe with Jammy Soft Boiled Eggs for Antalya Piyaz
Contemporary Take on Venetian Poached Eggs with Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan
Another of our 30 recipes to make in June 2025, this recipe for poached eggs with asparagus, pancetta and parmesan makes a contemporary take on a traditional Venetian dish of poached eggs with asparagi. I couldn’t leave the classic rendition of the dish that I made for the Venice edition of my Weekend Eggs series alone. Here’s what I did to that dish and why.
I was lamenting the fact that it’s not really customary in Venice to have a big breakfast or eggs-based breakfast. But with all the great produce available, I wasn’t going to let that stop us from concocting our own eggs dish in our Venice palazzo apartment rental. I devised this dish while Lara was sipping prosecco while gazing out the window onto the Grand Canal. Someone had to do some cooking…
It tastes super and it looks fantastic – even if I do say so myself. What I also like is that it’s both an elegant version of the traditional dish, but it’s also easy to serve and fun to eat because you can eat it standing up with a spoon – perfect for an informal brunch. Or a wife who can’t drag herself away from the windows of our palazzo. Don’t forget to make a spritz or serve prosecco to sip with it!
Contemporary Poached Eggs Recipe with Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan
Fried Egg and Avocado Breakfast Banh Mi Recipe
We shared this recipe for a fried egg avocado breakfast banh mi as part of our Weekend Eggs series. Our recipe will make you a filled breakfast sandwich or breakfast baguette inspired by our favourite Australian café breakfast of classic avocado toast recipe with poached eggs and the Cambodian and Vietnamese baguettes with eggs that we’ve long eaten and loved for breakfast in Cambodia and Vietnam, such as banh mi op la in Hoi An.
If you enjoy our fried egg avocado breakfast num pang, do try our meatball num pang made with these juicy pork balls; our num pang pâté with rustic country-style pâté and cold cuts; and, come Thanksgiving or Christmas, when you have leftover turkey, try our num pang barang (‘barang’ means ‘foreigner’ in Khmer).
The quick pickle of carrot and daikon and fresh fragrant herbs such as coriander, basil and mint is a must. I also recommend sprinkling on some slices of chilli – mild or hot chillies, it’s up to you, but it needs a kick of chilli. Alternatively, a squeeze of homemade Sriracha sauce also works. This another of our top 30 recipes to make in June 2025. Enjoy!
Fried Egg Avocado Breakfast Banh Mi Recipe – or Breakfast Num Pang, Just Don’t Call It a Sub!
Soft-Centred Chocolate Lava Cake Recipe for a Molten Chocolate Cake Made in Costa Rica
National Chocolate Pudding Day on 26 June should be reason enough to try Terence’s recipe for an easy soft-centred chocolate cake recipe for a chocolate lava cake or molten chocolate cake. It was inspired by our visit to the Villa Vanilla Spice Farm during our two weeks in Costa Rica way back in 2010 during the yearlong global grand tour dedicated to slow, local and experiential travel that launched Grantourismo.
Seeing fresh vanilla and cocoa beans was a real treat. Seeing the flowers that lead to the formation of a cacao pod and seeing the cocoa beans out drying in the sun was amazing. It was so inspirational that instead of writing about a quintessential dish of the place, Terence decided to share a recipe inspired by the place for his series The Dish.
A French brasserie classic known as Moelleux au Chocolat in French, or molten chocolate cake, a soft-centred chocolate cake or lava cake is one of the dishes that every cook should master to become a better home cook as far as we’re concerned.
When we used to entertain regularly when we lived in Dubai, Terence nearly always deferred to this recipe for a soft-centred chocolate cake. He relied on this dessert so much that he even packed some silicone cup-cake moulds on that yearlong adventure.
Soft-Centred Chocolate Cake Recipe for Chocolate Lava Cake or Molten Chocolate Cake
Cooling Creamy Cucumber Sour Cream Salad Recipe
My cucumber sour cream salad recipe makes one of my Russian-Ukrainian family recipes, a creamy cucumber salad that has crunch from the cucumbers and shallots, zing from lemon and vinegar, tang from pickles and sour cream, and fragrance from fresh dill. The Eastern European style salad makes a fantastic addition to a zakuski table or a delicious side dish for cabbage rolls or kotleti (chicken cutlets).
As you’ve probably guessed from our cucumber salad recipes, – from this salad of crunchy cucumber spears tossed in our easy vinaigrette piled onto a creamy butter bean purée to this Burmese cucumber salad, Japanese cucumber cabbage salad and radish cucumber salad – we eat a lot of cucumbers in Cambodia.
We love our cucumber salads, but despite me calling this a cucumber sour cream salad recipe, it actually makes an Eastern European style cucumber side dish, that’s more akin to, say, Indian raita, the cooling accompaniment to spicy Indian curries, such as this Punjabi chole or chickpea curry or Indian-style Burmese curry.
My Russian-Ukrainian grandmother presented her cucumber sour cream salad as an appetiser or zakuski, an array of small dishes that served as starters, which would then stay on the table to be eaten with mains, in the same way this Middle Eastern style cucumber yoghurt salad is served with kofta kebabs, baharat meatballs, falafel, and fried kebbeh.
Creamy Cucumber Sour Cream Salad Recipe with Shallots and Dill
Traditional Khmer Raw Fish Salad Recipe for Cambodian Style Ceviche Phlea Trei
June 28 is National Ceviche Day, so why not use that as an excuse to try our take on a traditional Khmer raw fish salad recipe for phlea trei, a Cambodian style ceviche usually made with raw fish ‘cooked’ in citrus juice. It’s an ancient Khmer dish that feels contemporary, which is why it can be found on so many of the menus of the best Cambodian restaurants in Siem Reap.
Cambodian cooks usually use a firm white-fleshed local fish. Coastal dwellers would use an ocean fish, obviously, while Cambodians who live inland would use freshwater fish. While fish from the lake or rivers can often taste muddy, most Cambodians don’t mind that earthy taste, however, chefs will more often than not use ocean fish for their raw fish salads.
Interestingly, one of the biggest trends of recent years in Cambodia has been a passion for salmon. It’s not unusual for Cambodians to pick up some sashimi quality salmon from the supermarket on a Friday evening and indulge in homemade sashimi, which they dip into fish sauce, soy sauce and wasabi or Cambodian dipping sauces.
We’ve therefore opted for salmon for our Khmer raw fish salad recipe for phlea trei – we also love salmon! – and because it’s sashimi quality we’ve not marinated the salmon and allowed it to ‘cook’ in the citrus-based dressing as it traditionally made.
Salmon lover? Browse our collection of best salmon recipes, which includes recipes for Russian blini with smoked salmon and caviar, a twist on that: buckwheat pancakes with smoked salmon and ‘caviar’ of gherkin and radish, a creamy smoked salmon dip, elegant devilled eggs with smoked salmon and caviar, smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’, fish soup with salmon, Russian salmon potato salad, smoked salmon pasta with capers and dill pickles, Vietnamese caramelised salmon, an easy salmon tray bake, salmon fillets with crispy skin, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and caviar.
Traditional Khmer Raw Fish Salad Recipe for the Cambodian Style Ceviche Called Phlea Trei
Cambodian Banana Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Sesame and Star Anise
If you’re a fan of Southeast Asian desserts, celebrate National Tapioca Day on 28 June, by making this banana coconut tapioca pudding recipe for Cambodia’s chek ktis, a sweet and creamy aromatic dessert of stewed banana in coconut milk and tapioca pearls, perfumed with star anise. Garnish with grated coconut, add a drizzle of coconut cream, and sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
If you enjoyed our mango sago pudding recipe, you’re going to love this banana coconut tapioca pudding recipe, which will make you a deliciously simple yet much loved Cambodian dessert called chek ktis – chek means banana in Cambodia’s Khmer language, and ktis, or more correctly k’tis or k’tiss, means coconut and covers coconut milk and coconut cream.
While this recipe calls for tapioca pearls, you could use sago pearls if they’re easier to find, as they are here in Cambodia. While sago and tapioca come from different sources, the texture is similar, most people can’t tell them apart, and they’re used interchangeably by many Cambodian cooks. It’s another of our 30 recipes to make in June 2025.
Cambodian Banana Coconut Tapioca Pudding Recipe with Sesame and Star Anise for Chek Ktis
Thai Style Cobb Salad Recipe Inspired by Khao Yam Bangkok by Chef Ian Kittichai
This Thai style Cobb salad recipe is inspired by Thai chef Ian Kittichai’s Khao Yam Bangkok recipe for a ‘Bangkok Cobb salad’, which he serves at his beautiful restaurant, Issaya Siamese Club, in the Thai capital. My version is essentially a Thai inspired take on the American Cobb salad rather than my take on khao yam.
Our Thai style cobb salad recipe makes a fusion of the classic American Cobb salad and Southern Thai salad khao yam and it’s one of our best summer salad recipes and mid-week meal ideas. It’s based on one of my favourite Thai food recipes, a delicious salad by Thai chef Ian Kittichai, which he calls Khao Yam Bangkok and translates to Bangkok Cobb Salad in his Issaya Siamese Club restaurant cookbook*.
Chef Ian Kittichai’s Khao Yam Bangkok is essentially his take on a Southern Thai khao yam that he presents in the style of an American Cobb salad at his enchanting restaurant, Issaya Siamese Club, set in a splendid historic mansion in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.
And if you’re a lover of corn salads, try this easy Middle Eastern inspired corn salad with bacon, pearl couscous, parsley, and fried shallots on yoghurt, this Thai corn salad with tomatoes, green beans and peanuts, and this Mexican grilled corn salad with Mexican cheese, chilli, coriander, and lime.
Thai Style Cobb Salad Recipe Inspired by Khao Yam Bangkok by Chef Ian Kittichai
Classic Korean Coleslaw Recipe for a Korean Cabbage Salad Side Dish
Another of our 30 recipes to make in June 2025, this Korean coleslaw recipe makes a zingy Korean cabbage salad that we shared as part of a series of Korean small plate dishes we love – Korean street food, Korean sides called banchan, and Korean dishes served as drinking food called anju – which has included recipes for Korean corn cheese, Korean meatballs, Korean potato salad, and Korean cucumber salad.
If you’re a lover of cabbage dishes, especially coleslaw and cabbage salads, such as my colourful coleslaw made with purple cabbage and pickled pink shallots, this Burmese raw cabbage salad, and this Japanese style cabbage and cucumber salad, you’re also going to enjoy this classic Korean cabbage salad recipe for Korean coleslaw.
We love to serve this Korean slaw as a side to Korean fried chicken – or any fried chicken for that matter! – as one of an array of banchan or starters for Korean barbecue dishes, with Korean-style burgers like this Japanese chicken katsu burger, or tucked into a Korean-inspired gourmet hotdog.
If you’re a fan of Korean food and have made and enjoyed our recipes for Korean spicy udon noodles, Korean japchae (glass noodles), and bokkeumbap (kimchi fried rice), you will love this Korean coleslaw. It’s another easy, speedy recipe, but I’ll share a few tips to making this Korean cabbage salad recipe below.
Classic Korean Coleslaw Recipe for a Korean Cabbage Salad Side Dish
Please do let us know if you make any of our 30 recipes to cook in June 2025 as we’d love to know how they turn out for you.
