Skillet Chicken with Summer Vegetables. Tom McCorkle/photo; Gina Nistico /food styling, for The Washington Post When corn, tomato and zucchini seasons converge, I already know what’s on my menu. I look forward to this time all year, when the ingredients for my summer vegetable saute are in their prime.
I don’t have to think about it at all because my hands already know what to do. I break out a large skillet and get chopped onion softening in olive oil, then add fresh corn kernels, bite-size pieces of zucchini and tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cook until the vegetables are tender but still firm and brilliantly colorful. It takes just a few minutes.
Then I sprinkle on fresh basil leaves and voilà, a simple but delightful dish where nature and my local farmer have done most of the work. I serve this medley with a rotisserie chicken or as a topping for fish tacos. I use it as a filling for a big, savory pancake or as a topping for a savory Dutch baby.
I might even tuck some away in the refrigerator to eat cold, with a scoop of cottage cheese, or to fold into an omelet. Here, I turn the versatile vegetable medley into a skillet dinner by cooking it in the same pan that’s used to cook chunks of chicken breast. The savory chicken is seasoned with sweet paprika, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper, which lends a gentle heat to offset corn’s sweetness.
Finished with a bright squeeze of lemon juice and floral basil leaves, it’s a one-pan dinner that paves yet another pat.
