Campanelle Pasta with Sweet Corn, Tomatoes and Basil

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

4 ears corn, husked

4 tablespoons (½ stick) salted butter, cut into 4 pieces, divided

2 medium shallots, minced

1 habanero chili, stemmed, seeded and minced

12 ounces campanelle or other short pasta

1 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together the tomatoes and 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside. Set a box grater in a large bowl or pie plate. Using the grater's large holes, grate the corn down to the cobs; reserve the cobs.

In a large pot, bring 2½ quarts water to a boil. Add the corn cobs and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, reduce to medium and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Using tongs, remove and discard the cobs, then remove the pot from the heat.

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the grated corn, shallots, chili and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the shallots have softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1½ cups of the cooking water. Cook over medium-low, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened (a spatula should leave a brief trail when drawn through the mixture), 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, return the remaining corn-infused water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the skillet and cook over medium, stirring constantly, until the pasta is coated and the sauce is creamy, about 2 minutes; if needed, add the reserved cooking water 2 tablespoons at a time to reach proper consistency.

Off heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the tomatoes with their juices and the basil, then toss until the butter has melted. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Notes

This recipe was inspired by a pasta dish served at Al Forno restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island. There, ears of corn are blanched, then the kernels are sliced off and mixed with chopped tomatoes, minced habanero chilies and fresh herbs, then tossed with olive oil and hot pappardelle. We instead grate the corn off the cobs, which yields a coarse puree of kernels and starchy corn “milk.” We then simmer the cobs in water to make a corn-infused broth to use as the base of the sauce as well for cooking the pasta. The ingredients in this summery pasta dish are few, so fresh corn and ripe tomatoes is key. Yellow corn gave the dish a golden hue, but white corn worked, too. Whichever you use, make sure to remove as much as the silk as possible before grating. Short, sauce-catching pasta shapes are best here—if you can’t find campanelle (a frilly, trumpet-like shape), look for penne rigate, fusilli or farfalle.

TIP

Don't fear the habanero in this dish. It does add a little heat (seeding the chili removes much of its burn), but it's here mostly because its fruity notes are a nice complement to the corn, tomatoes and basil.