Sweet, Easy Summer Supper
Recipes: Fresh, light, and straight from California
A little bit BLT, a little bit Caprese salad, plus the super-sweet crunch of fresh corn kernels.
Possibly the perfect summer pasta (if I do say so).
Protein and fiber-boosted pasta, cottage cheese instead of mozzarella in the topping, and a good amount of fresh veggies make it feel light and healthy. (Never mind that bacon. Shh…)
Prep comes together in the time it takes to boil the pasta water, because you’ve got other things to do in summer!
Time: 30 minutes Yield: 4 servings
Summer Corn and Bacon Pasta with Quasi-Caprese Toppings
Possibly the perfect summer pasta.
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- 12 oz any type pasta (I used Barilla Protein+ angel hair, broken in half)
- 8 oz. good quality bacon
- ½ c chopped onion (green onions, red onion, yellow, leek- any type, really)
- 2 t chopped garlic
- 2 t chopped Fresno chile or jalapeño pepper (or substitute 1 t red pepper flakes)
- Fresh corn kernels cut from 4 ears corn
- ½ c grated fresh Parmesan
- 5 oz. package baby spinach
- 2 T. butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
For topping each portion:
- Cottage cheese (approx. ¼ c.)
- Chopped fresh tomato (approx. ¼ c.)
- Fresh basil, cut into ribbons (approx. 1 t.)
Instructions
- Start a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
- Prep other ingredients: Strip corn from husks; slice kernels off ears (see tip); chop onion, garlic, and chile; grate Parmesan.
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp (5-7 min). Remove cooked bacon from pan and chop; reserve 2 T. bacon grease in pan. (I soak up the excess grease with a wad of paper towel held with tongs.)
- Sauté the onion in same pan until soft (3-5 min), then add garlic, hot pepper, and corn, and continue cooking about 3 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, when the water comes to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions. When draining, reserve 1 c. cooking water.
- Combine pasta, corn mixture, bacon, and grated Parmesan in skillet or pasta pot, whichever has more room.
- Stir in fresh spinach, add butter, and heat a little longer, until spinach wilts. Add reserved pasta water 1 T. at a time to loosen the mix, as desired. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Quasi-Caprese Topping: Allow each person to add cottage cheese, chopped tomatoes, and shredded basil to their portion to taste.
Serves 4 generously.
Leftovers are fantastic; Be sure to add toppings after reheating.
Tip for cutting kernels off corn cobs without making a giant mess:
Place a small bowl (plastic, to preserve your knife’s edge) upside down inside your largest bowl.
Rest the ear of corn upright on the small inner bowl, then slice downward.
The kernels will (mostly) land inside the larger bowl.