Summer Side Dishes

The other night for dinner I decided to make one of my favorite salmon recipes from the Barefoot Contessa. Its really simple to pull together and cooks up in a flash, just a few minutes on the stovetop and 12 minutes in the oven- and you've got fool-proof delicious salmon. The panko crust adds a contrasting crunch, and the lemon zest and the dijon mustard give the salmon a nice kick. I'll link the recipe here- definitely give it a try.

For sides to pair with my salmon, I made an old favorite and a new one I just put together. The old favorite is my corn salad, which is hands down my favorite summer dish. I would probably make it every night of the week from May through August if I could- it's that good. And my new corn stripper from William Sonoma that I just discovered makes this salad come together in no time, with much less mess. At twelve bucks, it's been the best buy of the summer!

To make the corn salad, start by heating a good splash of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Chop up two or three garlic cloves to taste, and add them to the hot oil. Heat the garlic for a few minutes while you get on with the corn, making sure not to brown the garlic too much. Strip the kernels off of ten ears of white or yellow corn and add them to the garlic and oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cook the corn for about eight or ten minutes, until its tender but still has a little crunch when you taste it. Take the corn off the heat and pour it into a large bowl, allowing it to cool slightly before adding the other ingredients.

To the corn, add two cups halved cherry tomatoes, one cup small mozzarella balls (halve them if they're not bite-sized), two avocados diced in large chunks, 1/2 cup finely chopped basil, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Mix everything together well, and taste for salt and pepper. If you're making this slightly out of season when the corn isn't as great, add a tablespoon of honey or agave to mimic the sweetness of summer corn. This salad keeps really well in the fridge, but odds are there won't be much leftover after dinner!

The other side dish I came up with while wandering around the supermarket, which featured homemade pesto from a local farm and really great looking asparagus. All you have to do is boil up a big pot of salted water, and cook a box of whole wheat orzo per the instructions on the box. During the last three minutes of cooking, add one bunch of asparagus, cut three times down the length of the stalks to make them manageable.

While everything is cooking, roughly chop up three or four cups of fresh spinach and add to the bottom of a big bowl. Drain the orzo and asparagus, and dump everything over the chopped spinach. The heat from the orzo will steam-cook the spinach perfectly.  Add 1/2 a cup of pesto, homemade or whatever you've got on hand, and drizzle on some olive oil, mixing to coat everything evenly. Chop up two scallions, white and green parts, and add to the mix. Next, add the zest of a whole lemon and the juice of half the same lemon, more to taste if you like, and sprinkle on some salt and pepper to taste. If you feel like it, top the dish with some fresh basil, and enjoy a healthy veggie-loaded take on a pasta side dish!