Nothing screams summer like peak-season sweet corn, tomatoes, and salmon—all at the same time.
A very seasonal meal
Although we’re used to eating tomatoes, corn, and salmon all year round, these ingredients are best enjoyed during the summer months. This recipe brings them all together, so you can take advantage of the all-too-short moment that they’re here.
Wild salmon season spans roughly from June to October. Thanks to FreshDirect’s direct relationships with family-owned fisheries, we’re able to bring it to you in the shortest time possible, so you can enjoy its dazzlingly rich and robust flavor at its freshest. We’ve got three major varieties of Pacific salmon for delivery to you:
Also known as chinook salmon, these are the largest of the Alaskan fish (up to 120 lb). They are prized for their bright, succulent flesh, high oil content, and firm texture.
Sockeye salmon
Wild Alaskan sockeye or “red salmon” is loved for its robust flavor, dense meatiness, and the bright red hue it maintains, even after cooking.
Coho salmon
Mild and delicate with a vivid color and almost no fishy flavor. Wild coho has less fat than other salmon varieties.
For this recipe, we’ve selected sockeye salmon because its meaty, almost steak-like flavor has the personality necessary to balance out tangy juices of the late-summer veggies. Any of our salmon fillets will work nicely here, however, if you prefer buttery king or mild coho instead.
When it comes to the corn, we’re big fans of the ultra-sweet bicolor ears from Altobelli Farm. If you ask us, it’s the best corn you’ll ever eat—each ear is so naturally flavorful and delicious that you could eat it raw off the cob (although in this recipe we give it a quick sauté to bring out its tenderness). John Altobelli himself even drives it to us directly from his farm in Kinderhook, NY, meaning that it goes from the field to your door in mere hours.
Lastly, summertime is tomato time, each one sweet, juicy, and full of flavor from ripening up under the sunshine. We eagerly await the return each year of heirloom and local tomatoes from our favorite farms like Wickham’s Farm in Long Island or Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative in Pennsylvania. For this recipe, we really love the Garden Gem tomatoes from Lancaster, which have the most luscious sweet taste.
What You’ll Need:
For the sautéed corn:
6 ears corn
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
5 mini sweet mixed peppers, chopped
2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, minced (optional)
1 cup chopped mixed herbs such as basil, cilantro, marjoram, dill, parsley, or savory
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
For the oven-roasted tomatoes
2 pints whole cocktail tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
1⁄4 cup olive oil
6 sprigs thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
For the pan-roasted sockeye salmon
Four 6–8 oz sockeye salmon fillets
Salt
Olive oil
What To Do:
For the corn:
Remove the husks from the corn and cut the kernels off as close to the cob as possible (this should yield about 5 cups of kernels).
Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large, heavy sauté pan. Add the onion, peppers, salt and smoked paprika. Sauté on medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until onions are soft. Remove from pan to avoid crowding.
Turn up heat to medium-high, add remaining oil and corn to pan, season with salt and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Fold in onion and pepper mixture and chopped herbs. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
For the oven-roasted tomatoes:
Preheat oven to 450 F. Toss tomatoes in the olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Marinate for 10 minutes, then pour tomatoes out onto a foil-covered baking sheet.
Roast tomatoes on sheet until soft and blistered, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before using.
For the sockeye salmon:
Liberally season the sockeye salmon fillets with kosher or sea salt and let rest for 20 minutes or up to an hour.
Lightly coat a nonstick or cast-iron pan with olive oil over medium-high heat. Carefully place the salmon in the pan skin side down, trying not to crowd. After approximately 5 minutes, gently flip and continue to cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Remove from the pan.
To grill salmon, follow the same instructions above and place on a section of a clean, oiled grill over medium-high heat for best results.
