If you’re reading this, you deserve a bowl of pasta. How do I know this? It’s my job to know, just run with it. AND, because I can’t just let you have any old pasta, I’m bringing you this masterpiece today. What is it? Only the most perfect summer pasta, combining fresh corn and scallions into a silky sauce WITHOUT any cream it it. But since I’m me, I make up for the lack of cream in the sauce with a big ol’ ball of burrata on top because we all deserve it. Originally from the New York Times, there are few dishes I look forward to making more than this one. While it can be made year round with frozen corn, there’s just something about that fresh sweet corn taste that is HEAVENLY.
Basically to make this sauce, you cook together some scallion whites and corn in olive oil and a little butter, good already right? THEN, you blend that together into a thick, luxurious sauce, to which we add some whole corn kernels, red pepper flakes, scallion greens, and basil. Tossy-toss that with your short pasta of choice (I like orecchiette) and BOOM, the most perfect summer pasta.
This weekend, my family journeyed down to Washington, D.C. to visit my sister and oh my god it was hot. No offense but I’ve been dreaming of Fall since the second week of July you guys. BUT despite the heat, we spent some good old quality time together (i.e., ate a lot of food) before my brother moves to Seattle.
Before we get some happys today, I’m just going to do one more little plug for myself in case you don’t follow me on Instagram (which you totally should btw it’s a blast). If you like what you see here on Sweet D, I would love you forever if you took 2 minutes to nominate this blog for a Saveur Magazine Blog Award, found here. Simply enter the Sweet D url, check the box for Best Baking and Sweets Blog, and ta-da!!
NOW, here are 5 things to be happy about today:
ONE. Costume jewelry.
TWO. Having a burger, fries, and a beer at a summer baseball game.
THREE. 3-day weekends.
FOUR. Making a thorough packing list before a trip.
FIVE. Driving around with music playing and no destination in mind.
Let’s cook!
Sweet Corn Pasta with Burrata
Ingredients
- 24 ounces short pasta, like orecchiette
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 bunches scallions (about 15); slices, keeping whites and greens separate
- 5 ears fresh corn (or 4 cups frozen corn); shucked and kernels removed
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup torn basil leaves (you could also use mint)
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- Fresh lemon juice
- Fresh burrata (1 or ½ ball per person)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and cook your pasta for one minute less than the al dente recommendation on the box. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and set the drained pasta aside.
- In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the scallion whites + a pinch of salt, cooking until the scallions are soft. Add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water plus all but ½ cup of the corn. Simmer until the corn is heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer the mixture to a blender.
- Puree the sauce until completely smooth, adding more pasta water if necessary to achieve a thick but pourable sauce.
- Reheat the same pan over high heat and melt the butter. Add in the reserved whole corn kernels and cook until tender. Add the corn puree back to the pan and cook for an additional minute to combine the flavors.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the pasta and the other ½ cup pasta water, tossing to coat. Stir in ½ cup of the reserved scallion greens, the cheese, basil, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice. To serve, top with more cheese and leftover scallions, and break a whole or half burrata on top. YUM!!
Looking for more summer pastas? I’ve got you covered here and here!