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I've said it before and I'll say it again, one really great thing about living in China is the accessibility to all sorts of fresh produce. I'm within walking distance to a wet market with probably 20 stands of nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables. A lot like the farmers markets that take place on the weekends in the summer in the US - except that it's every day all year long. Even better are the prices. And the freebies - the girl at my favorite stand won't let me leave without giving me something (usually green onions and cilantro) for free. :) The corn has been especially delicious lately and it's been made a lot of appearances at our dinner table.
This Summer Sweet Corn Fettuccine seemed like a perfect use for the corn cobs I came home with a few weekends ago. And I really did love it. I did make a few adjustments to the recipe. I initially was going to cut everything in half, but then the sauce didn't seem like it would be enough for the pasta (even though I was using less pasta) so I added additional milk. So in the end I used less corn than the original recipe, but it honestly seemed like just enough, any more might have been *too* much. As always though, I'll list the recipe as I made it and link to the original, so it's your call!
Summer Sweet Corn Fettuccine
Ingredients
8 oz Fettuccine
3 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch
3 ears of corn on the cob, shucked
1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme or 1/2 tsp dry thyme
A few dashes of hot sauce
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
5-6 sweet basil leaves, cut in a chiffonade
Directions
Cook pasta according to box, then drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, steady the corn in a large mixing bowl and cut the corn off of the cob. Switching to a butter knife, carefully scrape anything that is left on the cob, including the juices, into the bowl. Set aside.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until rendered and crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. Set bacon aside. Add 2/3 of the corn and juices, red onion, and red bell pepper to pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
While the vegetables are cooking, add the remaining corn, milk/half-and-half, thyme, and hot sauce to a food processor. Process until mostly smooth, set aside. Add the chicken broth to pan with the vegetables, reduce heat to low, and simmer for a few minutes to reduce. Pour in the corn/milk mixture and cook for another 4 minutes. Add half of the Parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Taste and season with additional hot sauce and s&p as needed.
Add the pasta to the sauce along with half of the reserved bacon, stir to coat. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese, bacon, and basil. Serve hot and enjoy!