diff --git a/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/IRecipeRepository.cs b/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/IRecipeRepository.cs
index 5afb2f0..ebbc8c7 100644
--- a/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/IRecipeRepository.cs
+++ b/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/IRecipeRepository.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 namespace Francesco.Recipes.World.Repositories.Recipe
 {
+    using Francesco.Recipes.World.Models;
     using Francesco.Recipes.World.Models.BackendModels.Category;
     using Francesco.Recipes.World.Models.BackendModels.Recipe;
 
@@ -17,8 +18,7 @@
 
         Task<Recipe> CreateRecipeForCategoryAsync(Category category, string name, string description, Difficulty difficulty, int servings, TimeSpan preparationTime, TimeSpan cookingTime);
 
-        Task<IEnumerable<Recipe>> SearchInRecipesAndIngredients(string searchterm);
-
         Task<bool> DeleteRecipeAsync(Guid recipeId);
+        Task<IEnumerable<SearchViewModel>> SearchInRecipesAndIngredients(string searchTerm);
     }
 }
diff --git a/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/RecipeRepository.cs b/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/RecipeRepository.cs
index 73c76a7..d097f7d 100644
--- a/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/RecipeRepository.cs
+++ b/Francesco.Recipes.World/Repositories/Recipe/RecipeRepository.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 namespace Francesco.Recipes.World.Repositories.Recipe
 {
     using Francesco.Recipes.World.Data;
+    using Francesco.Recipes.World.Models;
     using Francesco.Recipes.World.Models.BackendModels.Category;
     using Francesco.Recipes.World.Models.BackendModels.Ingredient;
     using Francesco.Recipes.World.Models.BackendModels.Recipe;
@@ -148,21 +149,67 @@
             await _context.SaveChangesAsync();
         }
 
-        public async Task<IEnumerable<Recipe>> SearchInRecipesAndIngredients(string searchTerm)
+        public async Task<IEnumerable<SearchViewModel>> SearchInRecipesAndIngredients(string searchTerm)
         {
-            var queryable = _context.Recipes
-                .Include(r => r.RecipeIngredients)
-                    .ThenInclude(ri => ri.Ingredient)
-                .AsQueryable();
-
-            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(searchTerm))
+            try
             {
-                searchTerm = searchTerm.ToLower();
-                queryable = queryable.Where(r => r.Name.ToLower().Contains(searchTerm) ||
-                                                 r.RecipeIngredients.Any(ri => ri.Ingredient.Name.ToLower().Contains(searchTerm)));
-            }
+                if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(searchTerm))
+                {
+                    return await _context.Recipes
+                        .OrderByDescending(r => r.CreatedAt)
+                        .Take(20)
+                        .Select(r => new SearchViewModel
+                        {
+                            Id = r.Id,
+                            Name = r.Name,
+                            Description = r.Description,
+                            IsFavorite = r.IsFavorite,
+                            ImageData = r.MediaFiles
+                                .Where(m => m.MimeType != null && m.MimeType.StartsWith("image/"))
+                                .Select(m => m.Data)
+                                .FirstOrDefault(),
+                            MimeType = r.MediaFiles
+                                .Where(m => m.MimeType != null && m.MimeType.StartsWith("image/"))
+                                .Select(m => m.MimeType)
+                                .FirstOrDefault(),
+                            Ingredients = r.RecipeIngredients.Select(ri => ri.Ingredient.Name).ToList(),
+                            TotalTime = r.PreparationTime.Add(r.CookingTime),
+                        })
+                        .ToListAsync();
+                }
 
-            return await queryable.ToListAsync();
+                var normalizedSearchTerm = searchTerm.ToLower();
+
+                return await _context.Recipes
+                    .Where(r => EF.Functions.Like(r.Name.ToLower(), $"%{normalizedSearchTerm}%") ||
+                                (r.Description != null && EF.Functions.Like(r.Description.ToLower(), $"%{normalizedSearchTerm}%")) ||
+                                r.RecipeIngredients.Any(ri => EF.Functions.Like(ri.Ingredient.Name.ToLower(), $"%{normalizedSearchTerm}%")))
+                    .OrderByDescending(r => r.CreatedAt)
+                    .Take(100)
+                    .Select(r => new SearchViewModel
+                    {
+                        Id = r.Id,
+                        Name = r.Name,
+                        Description = r.Description,
+                        IsFavorite = r.IsFavorite,
+                        ImageData = r.MediaFiles
+                            .Where(m => m.MimeType != null && m.MimeType.StartsWith("image/"))
+                            .Select(m => m.Data)
+                            .FirstOrDefault(),
+                        MimeType = r.MediaFiles
+                            .Where(m => m.MimeType != null && m.MimeType.StartsWith("image/"))
+                            .Select(m => m.MimeType)
+                            .FirstOrDefault(),
+                        Ingredients = r.RecipeIngredients.Select(ri => ri.Ingredient.Name).ToList(),
+                        TotalTime = r.PreparationTime.Add(r.CookingTime),
+                    })
+                    .ToListAsync();
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                Console.WriteLine($"Error in SearchInRecipesAndIngredientsOptimized: {ex.Message}");
+                return new List<SearchViewModel>();
+            }
         }
 
         public async Task<IReadOnlyCollection<Recipe>> GetRecipesByDifficultyAsync(Difficulty? difficulty)