Creamy fresh corn pasta

Creamy Fresh Corn Pasta

8
Points®
Total Time
30 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
15 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
When fresh corn is at its seasonal peak, it’s sweet, juicy, and supremely crisp—and too good not to put into all kinds of dishes. Here, it becomes the rich sauce for pasta; think of it as pasta tossed with creamed corn (but fresh creamed corn, with a fuller flavor than frozen or canned versions). To balance the sweetness of the corn, we incorporate savory scallions and woodsy thyme. Most of the corn is pureed in a food processor, but we leave plenty of kernels whole; this way, you get a creamy sauce (without any cream) along with lots of crisp, juicy bursts.

Ingredients

Uncooked casarecce pasta

8 oz, or other short pasta shape

Corn on the cob

3 ear(s), medium

Olive oil

1 Tbsp

Scallions

½ cup(s), chopped, thinly sliced

Fresh thyme

2 tsp, leaves

Kosher salt

½ tsp

Black pepper

¼ tsp

Grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbsp

Instructions

  1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Scoop out and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
  2. Cut the kernels off the ears of corn to yield about 3 ½ cups. Set 1 cup of the kernels aside. Place the remaining kernels in a food processor. Using the dull side of a large knife (opposite the cutting edge), scrape firmly down each corn cob to “milk” the cob, removing the remaining pulp from each ear. Add the corn pulp to the food processor. Process on high until the corn is pureed, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the whole corn kernels, scallions, and thyme to the pan; sauté 2 minute. Add the pureed corn, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in the cooked pasta and ½ cup reserved pasta water; cook until creamy and thick, about 1 minute. Stir in additional pasta water as needed for desired consistency. Stir in cheese.
  4. Serving size: about 1 cup