Chicken and zucchini with charred scallion salsa
Chicken, good. Zucchini, good. Charred scallion salsa, really good.
Cooking
August 16, 2025

Good morning! Today we have for you:

Four chicken breasts with zucchini and charred scallion salsa are shown in a cast-iron skillet.
Colu Henry’s chicken breasts with zucchini and scallion salsa. Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.

Come for the chicken and zucchini, stay for the charred scallion salsa

By Mia Leimkuhler

I know there are some heavy-hitter ingredients in Colu Henry’s skillet chicken and zucchini with charred scallion salsa — the chicken and the zucchini — but bear with me as I focus on those scallions.

My fridge feels empty without at least two bunches of pert green onions stashed in the crisper. They last a good while and they’re so versatile, providing a variety of flavors and textures. To wit:

Lately I’ve been into charring my scallions, which gives them a pleasant smokiness. And once you’ve charred a (literal) bunch of scallions, you can do so many things with them. Stir them into a dip! Make them into a pasta! Use them as a base for a chimichurri situation or, as Colu does above, for a fast and easy salsa with cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice.

This glorious green concoction perks up summer’s sweet zucchini and seared, skin-on chicken breasts, and I bet it would be good on lots of other things, too: grilled salmon, crispy tofu, shrimp tacos. As I said: Scallions!

Featured Recipe

Skillet Chicken and Zucchini With Charred-Scallion Salsa

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More chicken and zucchini (scallions notwithstanding)

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Today’s specials

Soy-butter corn ramen: I tumbled down a rabbit hole of Hokkaido food videos the other day (as one does). The region’s famous miso butter corn ramen made me think of this super-quick Hetty Lui McKinnon recipe, which hits many of the same notes: curly noodles, sweet corn and a good dose of umami from the soy sauce and the butter. I bet adding a little miso in Step 3 would work out quite nicely.

Miso-grilled shrimp with corn and shishito peppers: Speaking of corn and miso, here’s a new recipe from Ali Slagle that reads like a summer cooking to-do list. Make extra for excellent midweek rice bowls.

Chocolate mint tart: The way I am a sucker for any treat that’s a jumbo-size version of something small (see: Melissa Clark’s giant jam bun; Sohla El-Waylly’s giant almond croissant). Yossy Arefi has made for us, essentially, a giant peppermint patty, and I can’t imagine a more elegantly refreshing dessert.

A bowl is filled to the brim with ramen noodles, corn and sliced scallions.

Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.

Soy-Butter Corn Ramen

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

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Makes 4 servings

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Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Susie Theodorou.

Miso-Grilled Shrimp with Corn and Shishito Peppers

By Ali Slagle

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Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.

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Makes One 9-inch tart

And before you go

If you’re a frequent reader of The Veggie, you know that Tanya Sichynsky is very good at pairing specific cooking needs (what to do with a lot of kale; what to serve a group with wildly varying dietary needs) with specific vegetarian recipes. And now you can be a frequent viewer of The Veggie, too: We have a new video series in which Tanya answers common reader questions with her characteristic Tanya flair. Click here or below to watch her tackle what to feed a meat-and-potatoes partner:

A collage of video stills shows a crispy fried tofu sandwich, three recipe cards, a woman smiling and a man eating a sandwich and giving a thumbs-up.
Can these vegetarian recipes win over a meat-and-potatoes guy? Let’s find out (by clicking on this image)! New York Times Cooking

Thanks for reading!

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