Cherry Tomato & Corn Goat Cheese Pasta with Mushrooms
My sister-in-law’s favorite season is upon us… corn season.
I think she subconsciously picked this month to get married simply because her nostalgia for her favorite vegetable peaks this time of year.
Who doesn’t love super sweet summer corn?!? This recipe marries this sweet crop with tangy goat cheese, savory tomatoes and meaty mushrooms in a heaping bowl of pasta. Umm… YUM.
There’s no cream in this wonderfully summery pasta dish, just a luscious sauce with the base being puréed fresh corn and sweet sautéed tomatoes. At the end, I like to top it with Parmesan for depth and red chile flakes for a contrasting bite. Be sure to add the lemon juice and fresh herbs at the end; the rich pasta really benefits from their bright, fresh flavors.
While this is best made at the height of corn season, it’s still quite good even with out-of-season supermarket ears, or with frozen corn.
You might want to make a triple batch of the sauce and then use it on top of veggies or a protein that you make later that week.
Cherry Tomato & Corn Goat Cheese Pasta with Mushrooms
INGREDIENTS
12 oz to 1 lb medium pasta shells or any short variety ( I used banza chickpea pasta)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/2 pound wild mushrooms (or cremini) sliced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
3 cups cherry tomatoes
3 ears corn, shucked and kernels removed
1 small onion, diced
4 oz goat cheese, from a log and crumble by hand
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
red pepper flakes, lemon juice and basil to garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions. Drain once al dente and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoons of the butter and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add garlic and mushroom and sauté until golden, remove and set aside. Add another 1 tablespoon of butter and remaining oil to the same pan and add the onions. Cook until soft, 6-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the corn and cook until tomatoes are soft and corn is heated through and almost tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove about 1/2 cup of the tomato and corn and set aside mixed with the mushrooms.
Transfer the rest of the tomato and corn mixture to a blender, and purée until smooth, adding the reserved cooking liquid a little bit at a time as needed if needed to get a pourable texture (you're looking for something that's about the same consistency of a marinara sauce)
Transfer the pureed corn back into the skillet with the reserved whole corn kernels, tomatoes and mushrooms bring to a simmer. Add pasta, goat cheese, and a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin out the sauce as needed and toss to coat. Stir in the Parmesan, lemon juice, basil, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Taste and adjust as needed.