Summer dinners are all about keeping things simple and seasonal, and the corn and basil fettuccine is the perfect representation of simple and seasonal. It’s made with just a handful of ingredients: pasta, fresh corn, crisp green herbs, some pasta water and parmesan cheese (plus some hot red pepper flakes if you like the heat!). The sauce that coats the al dente pasta is made from pureeing some of the sweet summer corn with hot pasta water and salty parmesan cheese, it’s almost like a corn cacio e pepe! More fresh corn is folded into the pasta with a heap of fragrant green herbs. I snipped the basil, parsley and chives out of my garden just a few minutes before adding them to the dish, so I’m basically a farm to table restaurant now, right? Scroll down for the full recipe, and enjoy!
- 1 lb fettuccine pasta
- 4 ears of corn, cut from cob (about 2 cups total)
- ¼ Cup of parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 2 Tbsp of Basil, chopped
- 1 Tbsp of Chives, minced
- 1 Tbsp of Parsley, minced
- Salt and Pepper
- Red Pepper flakes (optional)
- Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook pasta as directed to al dente, reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining.
- Using a small food processor or immersion blender, puree 1 cup of corn with the hot pasta water and parmesan cheese. Add the pureed corn mixture to the pot with the cooked pasta and toss to coat.
- Fold in remaining 1 cup of corn, basil, chives, and parsley; season well with salt and pepper.
- Add red pepper flakes to taste and garnish with additional parmesan cheese before serving.
Do you need to cook the corn at all?
nope, no need! The warm pasta cooks it just a tiny bit and it retains it’s sweetness!