Corn salad makes seared salmon shine

Experienced cooks know that skin-on salmon fillets come with a bonus: added texture, by way of pan-crisped skin. In this recipe, you’ll season that skin only with salt and do most of the cooking skin side down. That way, the seasoning blend on the fish won’t burn and the flesh will cook evenly — and that delicious crisped side will be part of each bite.

Celery seed is typically called into play for coleslaw and potato salad; here, it adds a bit of a bitter punch of flavor.

The accompanying salad takes advantage of a vegetable we are seeing more and more of on the frozen aisle: charred or roasted corn. It’s a timesaver and adds color, as well as more corny flavor to the mix. I serve this salad with grilled fish and chicken all summer long. Feel free to add diced red pepper (fresh or roasted) or minced jalapeno. taste). Empty the black beans into a colander; rinse and drain.

Place the frozen corn in a large, microwave-safe bowl and add a splash or two of water; microwave on high in 10-second increments until just warmed through.

Add the black beans, shallot, scallions, 3 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar and the cumin, if using, to the corn, tossing to coat. Taste, and add the remaining vinegar, as needed.

Place a salmon fillet on each plate, along with equal portions of the corn-black bean salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutritional information per serving: Calories: 410; Total Fat: 14 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Cholesterol: 80 mg; Sodium: 400 mg; Total Carbohydrates: 34 g; Dietary Fiber: 8 g; Sugars: 5 g; Protein: 37 g.

Based on a recipe in “The All-New Fresh Food Fast: 200+ Incredibly Flavorful 5-Ingredient 15-Minutes Recipes,” by the editors of Cooking Light (Cooking Light, 2018).