Blistered Shishito Pepper, Corn, Arugula Salad

Smoky, tangy, peppery salad to zang up the dinner plate.

Blistered shishito pepper, corn, arugula salad

This blistered shishito pepper, corn, arugula salad is for the people out there that don't really like salads. You ever feel like you're just putting salad on your plate because it needs "green" but its not actually tasty? Why aren't we making it tasty? I'm not here to waste room in my stomach and I'm sure you're not either.

Calling it a salad is almost not fair....it's a backyard BBQ veggie collage. A small sliver of a percent of this is lettuce. You have your smoky char of shishito peppers, mixed with roasted corn, peppery arugula (and don't think you're not getting cheese out of this, because you are). It can stand alone as a van meal in itself or go alongside some pan-fried harissa citrus chicken if you're feeling daring.

Blistered Shishito Pepper, Corn, Arugula Salad

Serves: 2-4 (depends on whether or not it's a main or a side)

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 oz shishito peppers

• 3 cobs of corn, cut from cob

• 1 medium avocado

• 1/3 cup crumbled feta

• 1 cup of arugula

• 1/4 cup lightly chopped cilantro

• 1/4 cup of toasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Dressing:

• 3 tablespoons minced shallot

• 1 clove of finely minced garlic

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice

• 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

• Salt & pepper

Directions

1. Heat up a medium cast iron over medium-high heat.

2. Add shishitos into a mixing/salad bowl and toss to coat with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and season lightly with salt. Once pan is hot, add shishitos in an even layer. Cook until blistered on the one side, then toss and continue to cook/blister on as much of the shishitos as you can, for a total of about 5-6 minutes. Remove the peppers onto a cutting board and allow to cool.

3. While peppers cool, make your dressing. In a small bowl, mix your minced shallot, garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, sesame oil, lime juice, rice vinegar, and cumin. Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes for the rest of the time needed for peppers to cool down enough.

4. Once peppers are cooled, remove stems. Add your peppers back in to your mixing/salad bowl, along with your corn, avocado, feta, arugula, cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds or walnuts.

5. Top with your dressing and mix thoroughly. Taste and season with extra salt and cracked black pepper.

6. Serve up in a bowl as a main, pairing with a protein, or serve as a side to your other delicious dishes.

If you need other ideas on what to pair with that's perhaps veggie friendly, try these stuffed pasilla peppers on for size. Who says you can't have two peppers in this meal?

Now kick back in your camp chair, get down on your gourmet salad - and actually....enjoy it? Yeah, I said it. Enjoy a SALAD.