Snack Plates That Embrace the Ethos of ‘Girl Dinner’

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Adult Lunchables? “Girl dinner”? Whatever you call them, these vibrant platters are delicious.

By Tanya Sichynsky

Well into July, more and more of my meals look like this: A smattering of crackers, a small dish of edamame, maybe a mound of hummus alongside spears of Persian cucumbers, a handful of popcorn, a piece of cheese, a few blackberries.

If there are any rules for my snackish dinners, it’s that they’re assembled, no stove, oven or microwave required, and often enjoyed alone. Jessica Roy, who wrote last week in The New York Times about “girl dinner” — the latest trendy moniker for this style of eating — put it well: “Girl dinner represents a conscious choice to opt out of the tyranny of cooking and doing the dishes.”

Call it a grazing board, or even adult Lunchables if you’d like. But across cultures, a meal of a few disparate ingredients on a plate is always en vogue, and it always hits the spot.

So this week, embrace the ethos of girl dinner (and of dips for dinner) and don’t cook. Instead, prepare Naz Deravian’s naan-o paneer-o sabzi, an ethereal Iranian staple of flatbread, briny cheese, herbs and walnuts served together on a platter. This time of year, sliced watermelon, cucumbers and other well-chilled fruit should absolutely be added to the mix. “Taken together,” writes Naz in the recipe description, “they make a perfect bite, known as loghmeh in Persian.”

Kay Chun’s grand green aioli shares a similar stress-free, celebratory approach. Her vegetarian take on a Provençal classic, which often features steamed seafood, calls for crisp lettuces, hearty edamame and snappy vegetables. To ensure you don’t have to heat a thing, opt for produce that doesn’t require blanching, like carrots, radishes and sugar snap peas.

But maybe you’d like to simplify things even further. Maybe you just want to eat an icy fruit salad. For that, there’s this classic approach from Ali Slagle, in which she doctors up mixed fruit with just a little bit of sugar and lime to really make the flavors pop.

Or take things in a slightly savory direction, either with Kay’s fruit and fennel salad or Alexa Weibel’s spicy watermelon salad, which boasts feta, cilantro and thinly sliced jalapeño to counter the sweetness of melon and pineapple.

If this no-cook lifestyle resonates with you, don’t miss this assortment of 24 no-cook recipes, of which more than half are vegetarian. This girl would eat any one of them — even the desserts — for dinner.

View this recipe.

View this recipe.

View this recipe.

Speaking of snappy vegetables and chilled fruits: If you need even more summer produce inspiration, from now until Aug. 15, you can text any fruit or vegetable emoji to 361-COOK-NYT (361-266-5698) to receive a free recipe (emphasis on free!) that features that ingredient.

If you loved Recipe Matchmaker, you’ll love this. 🍑 ? We got you. 🌽? Absolutely. 🥒? Say less!

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

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