About the Recipe
Going on the premise that almost any combination of seasonal market vegetables makes an instantly fabulous salad, this one highlights three crops that are so delicious right now: blackberries, corn, and Shishito peppers. Their combination of flavors and textures makes a perfect accompaniment to a grilled main protein. The developer of this Food 52 website recipe, Emma Laperruque, finds that salmon fillets are the perfect foil for the salad, but suggests swordfish, shrimp, tuna, pork chops, or chicken thighs are also delectable with it. For the vegetarians, I can't imagine seasoned firm tofu, seitan, or tempeh wouldn't work. To keep things tidy, you can cook them in the same pan as the veggies; after step 3, just wipe out the skillet, season and cook your fish or meat to your liking--a hot, oiled pan will get fish nicely crisp and brown--then remove to a plate before finish up and plating them together.
-Christine, Market VP and food fan
Ingredients
2Â ears corn, shucked
6 ounces blackberries
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 teaspoons canola oil, divided
4 ounces shishito peppers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste
Wedges of lime for serving
Preparation
Take 1 ear of corn and use a very sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob. Add those to a bowl. Halve the larger blackberries lengthwise, but leave the smaller ones as they are. Add all the blackberries to the bowl with the corn. Season with a pinch of salt and toss.
Heat a large cast-iron over medium heat. While that heats up, de-kernel the remaining ear of corn. When the pan is hot, add 2 teaspoons canola oil. Swirl the oil around, then add the just-cut corn (not the corn with the blackberries! We want that to stay raw). Season with a pinch of salt, stir, then leave the corn alone to cook for about 6 minutes, stirring maybe once or twice, until it’s golden-brown and starting to char. Push aside the corn-blackberry mixture so half of the bowl is empty, then dump the crispy corn there to cool.
With the pan still over medium heat, add another 2 teaspoons canola oil, then the shishitos and another pinch of salt. Cook in the same way—mostly leaving alone—for 6 minutes, until charred and deflated. Dump onto a cutting board to cool a bit and turn off the heat.
At this stage, if making a fish or meat protein, wipe out skillet, cook it, and remove it.
Chop the shishitos into smaller pieces (figure into thirds or fourths depending on the size of the pepper). Add these shishitos to the bowl with the corn and blackberries. Dress with the olive oil and lime juice. Toss and taste. Adjust with more olive oil, lime juice, and salt as needed. NOTE: If cooking a protein, this step can be done while it is cooking in the pan.
Serve salad as a bed or along side the meat or fish; add lime wedge to squeeze on top.