Summer is in full swing in the north east. A trip to our favorite farm and a truckload of veggies later: it was time to make one of my favorite pasta dishes.
This recipe is a mix of concepts and food pairings I’ve picked up from various recipes over the years. It’s a forgiving recipe and easily adaptable, but the technique of using the box grater is the game changer here. If you want to make what I did, follow along. This recipe served two but we were hungry and ate big portions! Use less pasta for smaller appetites.
Ingredients:
- 5 ounces pasta (I like campanelle here)
- 2 medium zucchini
- 2 ears corn on the cob
- Cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups)
- Several garlic cloves, minced (we used about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Olive oil
- Red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Set a pot of water to boil while you prep the veggies.
- Shuck your corn ears then grate the corn on the large holes of your box grater. (I have found using a large bowl and grating in the sink easiest to manage the mess.) Really grate the cobs so the corn milk is released from the cob–this milk is the basis of your sauce. If you have really fresh and beautiful corn–which we did–I cut full kernels off of one cob before grating. I’d suggest grating both cobs fully for a richer sauce, though. Lesson learned!
- Set aside the corn mixture with a half teaspoon of salt and black pepper to taste.
- The water should be boiling or close to it now–throw the cobs into the water to add even more corn flavor to your cooking water! Let them boil about 10 minutes while you make the zucchini.
- Halve zucchini and slice into half moons. Place zucchini into a hot pan on medium heat with olive oil. Salt, pepper, and add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Sauté zucchini, turning regularly, to achieve a nice caramelized color. When zucchini is near the end of cooking, add half of your minced garlic and stir, careful not to let the garlic burn.
- While zucchini finishes cooking, half your cherry tomatoes.
- Remove zucchini from pan and wipe clean.
- Return pan to medium heat, add more olive oil and pour in grated corn mixture.
- Remove the cobs from the boiling water, salt the water, and add your pasta.
- Set a timer for 10 minutes (or however long the pasta instructions say) and remove one cup of boiling water to add to corn mixture. Stir corn mixture until bubbly then add remaining garlic and halved tomatoes to pan and cover.
- Stir corn and tomato mixture occasionally and add more pasta water if sauce becomes dry.
- In the last minute of pasta cooking time, remove lid from sauce, add zucchini back into sauce, and stir in 2 tablespoons of butter. I also would recommend reserving another half cup of pasta cooking water here, just in case you need it.
- Drain pasta and stir into sauce once butter has melted. Evenly coat pasta before pouring into bowls.
- Top pasta dish with torn basil and extra pepper flakes if desired.
I’ve made this dish for several years and loved the addition of zucchini to bulk up the pasta dish and really celebrate the produce of summer. The garlic and basil were from my garden, too. Below are some process photos.
