This is a summery pasta dish you will love!
The sauce is bursting with the flavors of fresh sweet corn, scallions, and fresh basil. No cream in this recipe, but the sauce is a creamy consistency, with a surprising depth of flavor.
A bit of butter adds to the richness while the freshly grated Parmesan and red chile flakes give the sauce just enough bite.
The lemon juice and herbs added at the end add a brightness to the richness of the dish.
While the pasta is cooking you can make the sauce so have all your ingredients ready to go.
The recipe calls for 2 ears of uncooked fresh corn, but I happened to have two ears of cooked corn left over from dinner the other night. I used those and just cut back on the cooking time when I added the corn. Delicious!
You must make this at least once this summer! Here it is…
Creamy Corn Pasta with Basil (recipe from Melissa Clark)
(3-4 servings)
Ingredients
Fine sea salt (or Kosher Salt)
12 ounces dry orecchiette or farfalle
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 bunch scallions (about 8), trimmed and thinly sliced (keep the whites and greens separate)
2 large ears corn, shucked and kernels removed (2 cups kernels)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper, more for serving
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano), more to taste
1/3 cup torn basil or mint, more for garnish
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
Fresh lemon juice, as needed
Step 1
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until 1 minute shy of al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup of pasta water.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat oil in large sauce pan over medium heat; add scallion whites and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 3 minutes.
Add ¼ cup water and all but ¼ cup corn; simmer until corn is heated through and almost tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, transfer to a blender (or food processor fitted with a metal blade), and puree mixture until smooth, adding a little extra water if needed to get a thick but pourable texture.
Step 3
Heat the same skillet over high heat. Add butter and let melt. Add reserved ¼ cup corn and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. (It’s okay if the butter browns; that deepens the flavor.)
Add the corn puree and cook for 30 seconds to heat and combine the flavors.
Step 4
Reduce heat to medium. Add pasta and half the reserved pasta cooking water, tossing to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then add a little more of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too thick.
Stir in ¼ cup of the scallion greens, the Parmesan or Pecorino, the herbs, the red pepper flakes, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice to taste. Transfer to warm pasta bowls and garnish with more scallions, herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.