For lazy summer days, this corn, tomato and tortilla-chip salad does all the work for you
We're starting to hit that time of year when summer's glorious produce demands to be used, just when you may be too heat-fatigued to feel like doing much with it. To the rescue: a recipe made for those days when an hour spent mowing the law, pulling weeds or strolling the farmers market needs to be followed by a tall glass of iced tea and a nap.
This salad demands very little of you and gives so much in return. It's hearty enough to be a main-course lunch, light enough to play side-dish status. It also employs smart ways to make your vegetables sing with even more clarity: Soaking sliced scallions in cold water crisps them up. Salting tomatoes 10 minutes in advance of assembly brings out more of their flavor. Briefly microwaving corn brightens it and helps you more easily remove the ears' husk and silks. Cutting the radishes into matchsticks (or running them along the coarse side of a box grater) helps spread their peppery bite more evenly. Honestly, though, if any of those steps seems like too much work, just skip it and use your favorite shortcut.
The rest of the job entails nothing more than dressing, tossing and serving. Before you do the latter, though, you'll shower on the crowning touch of crushed, crunchy tortilla chips. If you've got the energy, you could fry your own tortillas, of course, but trust me: Opening a bag is much more seasonally appropriate. They don't call them the lazy days of summer for nothing.