Sweet Corn, Spicy Shishitos, Super Salad

Lidey Heuck’s spicy corn and shishito pepper salad.Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.

This week brings the official start of summer, and with it comes the kickoff, in my house at least, of salad-for-dinner season.

Our family eats salad with dinner year round. While I cook, our 15-year-old salad captain seasons a bowl of greens with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and then tosses everything together with her hands. It’s always a perfect accompaniment to the meal (and it gets the kid involved).

But summer’s the season when salad barely needs company. Lidey Heuck’s spicy corn and shishito salad — a jubilant, cumin-y combination of sautéed peppers and crunchy raw corn kernels — is hearty and flavorful enough to be a light meal unto itself, maybe with some crusty bread on the side. You can always add some pasta if your tablemates require more heft; just add a dash more olive oil to coat until shiny. It’s a salad for all comers.

Featured Recipe

Spicy Corn and Shishito Salad

View Recipe →

Like the idea of a vegetarian pasta main, but hot? Give Vivian Chan-Tam’s one-pot ratatouille pasta a go. She cooks the vegetables in stages like a classic ratatouille: first the eggplant and onions, and then the zucchini and peppers so they keep some texture. The pasta is simmered right in the sauce, to absorb all those summery, herby flavors.