You don’t need cream for this delicious creamy corn pasta made from sweet corn fresh off the cob. Puréed corn provides a rich and creamy element to the dish. Additional fresh corn kernels add crunch.
This recipe is based on Melissa Clark’s creamy corn pasta with basil recipe (The New York Times). My son, Louis, and his partner, Jorja, tweaked the recipe, adding more corn and using the water the corn was cooked in to cook the pasta. Jorja wanted more veggies, and I agree with her.
This recipe makes about six servings.
Tips
- As an alternative to farfalle pasta, use any pasta that holds the sauce well, such as orecchiette or fusilli.
Ingredients
- 1 pound box farfalle pasta
- Kosher salt, for cooking pasta and seasoning the dish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (with the whites and greens separated)
- 5-6 large ears corn, shucked and kernels removed (about 5 cups kernels, separated into 3 and 2 cups) and cobs reserved
- Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup torn basil (or mint), plus more for garnish
- Fresh lemon juice, as needed
Directions
Heat water in a large pan and bring it to a boil. Break the corn cobs in half, add them to the pan, and cover it. When the water comes back to a boil, turn down the heat, so that the water is just simmering. Cook the cobs for 30 minutes to an hour. Use tongs to remove the cobs from the water. Keep the corn stock in the pan, so that you can use it to cook the pasta.
When you are ready to cook the pasta, bring the corn stock to a boil. Add about a tablespoon of salt and the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Before draining the pasta, scoop out about a cup and a half of the cooking liquid and reserve it for later.
While the pasta is cooking, begin making the creamed corn. Add the olive oil to a large skillet and set the heat to medium. Add the white scallion slices and a pinch of salt to the skillet and cook the scallions until soft (about 3 minutes). Add 3 cups of corn and 1/3 cup of pasta water to the skillet. Cook the corn until it is just tender (3 – 5 minutes). Add a little salt and pepper to the corn and let it cool a little.
Add the cooked corn to a food processor or blender and purée it until smooth. You might need to add a little more pasta water to get a thick, but pourable sauce. Add the water, a little at a time. Set the sauce aside while you cook the rest of the dish.
Now, cook the remaining 2 cups of corn. Add 5 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet and turn the heat on high. When the butter is melted, add the corn and cook it until tender. Lower the heat to medium and proceed to finish the dish.
Add the puréed corn to the skillet, stir everything, and let the sauce warm up (a minute or two). Add the pasta and about 1/2 cup of pasta water to the pan. Toss everything to coat the pasta with the sauce. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water.
Stir the red pepper flakes into the pasta. Remove the pasta from the heat.
Set aside a little of the green scallion slices and basil for garnishing the dish. Add the rest of the scallion slices and basil, Parmesan cheese, and about 1/4 teaspoon salt to the pasta mixture. Squeeze a little lemon juice into the pan and stir everything together. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
To serve, add the pasta dish to a large serving bowl or separate pasta bowls, garnish it with scallion greens and basil, then drizzle a little olive oil over the top.
Related Posts
You might enjoy these pasta dishes.