I have a simple and sunny recipe today for corn pasta as one of my favourite summer vegetables is coming into season here in the UK.
I really really love corn, especially charred on a griddle pan or a BBQ and so this corn pasta recipe incorporates charred corn of course. Charring your corn over medium heat, adds extra depth of flavour so I wouldn’t recommending skipping that step.
I divide the corn in two and blend one half with a handful of simple ingredients to make a creamy and silky pasta sauce and leave the other half unblended for some textural variation.
While you can simply serve this corn pasta as is, I tend to add some pan-fried vegan chicken coated in roast chicken spice mix for some protein. I didn’t include it in this recipe as I wanted to keep things simple – it’s summer, and a beautiful one at that so I bet most people want
to spend as little time cooking as possible – but you can get the recipe for it here if you wish. Enjoy!
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
CORN: Corn on the cob, roasted on either a griddle pan or a heavy cast iron pan (skillet) or on a BBQ is great in this dish as the charring adds an extra depth of flavour. You could make this dish with either frozen (make sure to thaw it first) or canned tin though. If using either frozen or canned corn, be sure to drain it really well and then dry it well with paper towels. Once dry, char the kernels in a heavy cast iron pan in a bit of oil.
PASTA: You can use any type of medium pasta here really, I used short rigatoni (Mezzi Rigatoni) as that’s what I like. If you want to make this dish without gluten, use gluten-free pasta you enjoy the most.
VEGAN CREAM: I used Oatly vegan cream to make the sauce more indulgent and creamy. You could use any other dairy-free cream you enjoy the taste of, or even plant milk for a slightly thinner sauce.
LEMON: I used a bit of lemon juice to offset corn’s natural sweetness, add as little or as much as you enjoy.
CHILLI: If you enjoy a bit of heat in your food, adding a pinch of chilli flakes to the sizzling garlic is a great way to give thick simple corn pasta a bit of a kick.
NUTRITIONAL YEAST: Nutritional yeast is a staple vegan seasoning that adds a little bit of cheesiness to vegan dishes. If you don’t have it, you could also add a touch of white miso to the sauce, tread carefully as miso bring in a lot of saltiness as well as flavour so add only a little at a time and taste before adding more.
BREADCRUMBS AND PINE NUTS: Coarse breadcrumbs and pine nuts toasted till golden brown make for a delicious topping for this simple pasta. If you are gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- 2 corns on the cob, approx. 300 g / 2 cups of kernels
- 200 g / 7 oz pasta (GF if needed), cooked
- 45 ml / 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for greasing
- pinch of chilli flakes, optional
- approx. 20 ml / 1½ tbsp lemon juice
- 60 ml / ¼ cup vegan cream, I used Oatly
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast or white miso to taste
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- a handful of basil leaves, to serve
- 1 heaped tbsp pine nuts
- 4 tbsp / ¼ cup coarse breadcrumbs (GF if needed)
- Preheat a heavy griddle pan or a cast iron skillet on medium heat.
- Brush both corns with olive oil and arrange them on the hot pan, allow them to char on one side before rotating. Carry on until the cobs are charred all over.
- While the corns are charring, warm up a tablespoon of oil in a small pan. Add breadcrumbs and pine nuts and allow them both to turn golden, keep the flame low and stir frequently. Season with a pinch of salt, then set aside.
- Cook your pasta until al dente. Save a bit of pasta cooking water just before draining.
- Preheat the remaining 2 tbsp of oil in a pan (you can use the same pan you used for breadcrumbs, just wipe it clean first). Add sliced garlic and fry on very low heat until no longer translucent, do not let it brown. If using chilli flakes, add them to the sizzling garlic when it’s almost done.
- Cut the kernels off both corns, put half into a small food processor and save the other half for serving. To the blender add, fried garlic including all of the oil, vegan cream, a tablespoon of lemon juice, nutritional yeast and a splash of pasta water.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more lemon, salt and pepper if needed.
- Transfer the sauce to a large pan, mix in cooked pasta and add another splash of pasta water if needed. Toss well to coat. Serve immediately topped with extra corn, chopped basil and toasted breadcrumbs and pine nuts.