Summer Pasta Fix

It's no secret that I love pasta. Since it's summer, I don't want to make super heavy, cheesy pasta dishes, but recently I had a craving for noodles and I needed something to serve to guests for a really casual weeknight dinner. Enter tagliatelle and corn pasta. Yum. I have made this two weeks in a row, so I figure it merits sharing, because that never happens around here. It's really good and gets rave reviews' from B and guests. I served it with a roasted chicken and an heirloom tomato salad. The good summer corn makes the dish really sweet, so just make sure whatever you decide to pair it with should be very savory, otherwise, you will have a very sweet supper. I also think it would be a great (almost) vegetarian main entree.

Photo caption: This is the third photo that B texted me while trying to pick up the ingredients for me for this last minute dinner. You would have thought I asked him to go to Italy to get it. I love this pasta but you can use whatever you can find... just in case your SO goes to the store for you and brings home linguine because finding the yellow bag up and to the left is too hard.

This dish can be almost totally prepared in advance, or you can be like me and start at the last minute and have your whole kitchen in a total mess by the time your guests arrive. Either way, it isn't hard - just really messy. Then again, I am a messy cook, so maybe it's just me. I follow the recipe pretty much exactly, except I don't measure precisely because you really can't screw it up. Just throw it all in and enjoy the starch lovers dish.

One tip: the pesto does get pretty sticky and you don't want it to be totally oily so you can't just keep thinning it with olive oil. Instead of draining the pasta, I use tongs to transfer it from the water to the skillet I cooked the corn in (also good if you are reheating the pesto) so the pasta is really wet. Then I put in the pesto and the corn and start stirring around, using the hot pasta water to thin it out as I stir. Sometimes you can skip that step in recipes but it is really necessary in this one.

Tagliatelle with Fresh Corn Pesto
Bon Appetit Aug 2010

6 first course/4 main course servings

4 bacon slices, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 6 large ears)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces tagliatelle or fettuccine
3/4 cup coarsely torn fresh basil leaves, divided

Cook bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, stirring often. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from skillet. Add corn, garlic, 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper to drippings in skillet. Sauté over medium-high heat until corn is just tender but not brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer 1 1/2 cups corn kernels to small bowl and reserve. Scrape remaining corn mixture into processor. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and pine nuts. With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube and blend until pesto is almost smooth. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot. Add corn pesto, reserved corn kernels, and 1/2 cup basil leaves. Toss pasta mixture over medium heat until warmed through, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to thin to desired consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil leaves and reserved bacon. Serve pasta, passing additional grated Parmesan alongside.