Corn, Cherry Tomato and Calabrian Chili Pasta
The summer is coming to an end and it’s almost time to swap out the swim suits and summer fruits for chunky sweaters and so many apple and pumpkin flavoured things. But for now while my local market stand still has it, I am going to be making the most of one of my favourite treats of the season – corn on the cob.
This pasta is so fun and bright, the perfect combination of sweet and spicy and is a pretty quick throw it together meal with minimal clean up. An all around winner when you would be spending the last days of summer outside of your kitchen.
I hate Grape Tomatoes
I honestly don’t know why these wannabe cherry tomatoes exist. Where cherry tomatoes offer brightness, sweetness, bold flavour and acidity – grape tomatoes are often bland, drier and can have tough skins. A cherry tomato can be beautifully cooked down into a sauce where as the skin of a grape tomato is thicker and provides an almost plasticy mouth feel when cooked down.
So how will you tell them apart? Grape tomatoes will try to trick you into thinking they are tasty little treats with their bright red colour and little round bodies but where cherry tomatoes are round, grape tomatoes are oblong and typically smaller in size.
Equiptment
- Chefs Knife
- Box Grater
- Cutting Board
- 9×9 or 9×13 Baking Dish
- Microplane
- Large Dutch Oven
- Spatula
Charred Corn, Cherry Tomato and Calabrian Chili Pasta
Course: Dinner4
servingsA super simple one pot pasta to use your end of summer bounty.
Ingredients
2 Ears of Corn
2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes
2 Green Onions
1 Tbsp Chopped Calabrian Chilis in Oil
1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Lemon
1/2C Cup Parmesan, plus more for serving
1lb Dry Short Pasta, such as casarecce, cavatappi or rigatoni
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Fresh Basil to Garnish
Directions
- Prep: Cut corn kernels from cobs. You can use your baking dish here to catch the kernels. See note.
Finely slice both the whites and greens of the green onion but keep them separate. If you are feeling fancy you can cut the dark green parts on a bias.
Zest and juice the lemon.
Grate parmesan. - Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat, when it is hot add 3 Tbsp olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pot.
Add corn and cherry tomatoes and leave for 3-5 minutes undisturbed until the tomatoes are starting to blister and the corn is starting to char.
Add the whites of the green onion, season with salt and continue to cook stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
Add tomato paste and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce it starting to darken. If the tomatoes have not started bursting you can help them along with the force of your spatula. - Add pasta and stir to coat.
Add 4 cups of water, a generous pinch of salt, stir to combine and bring to a boil.
Cook pasta stirring occasionally for 9-11 minutes or until the pasta is just al dente and the liquid has significantly reduced. You should be able to hear a little slurping sound as you drag your spatula along the bottom of the pot. - Stir in parmesan and lemon juice and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste.
Divide between bowls.
Top with more shredded parmesan, green tops of green onions, torn basil, reserved lemon zest and fresh cracked pepper.
Notes
- I find that the easiest and least messy way to remove kernels from a cob of corn is to remove the husk and silk, and cut crosswise a half inch from the bottom of the cob so that you have a flat surface. Place the flat end inside of a rimmed baking dish and use your chefs knife to cut down the length of the cob. This way the dish will catch all of the kernels!
