Tomato Corn Orecchiette

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Corn and tomatoes are perfect together. I love the buttery bite of corn with the acidity of tomatoes. Here they team up to make a tasty and filling vegetarian pasta.

It’s a quick and easy dinner recipe. With exciting ingredients, you can make a showstopper of a pasta recipe without much effort. The prep is simple, and the cooking is too.

With tomatoes, corn and basil, this recipe celebrates the best that summer has to offer. You can’t beat this ingredient trio. Plus the leftovers are fantastic when you add leafy greens and eat them like a pasta salad.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

For pasta:

• Tomatoes: You can use either cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes. I keep half of them whole and halve the rest of them. This gives you just the right amount of tomatoes that break up, burst and release their juices as you sauté them.
• Corn: I slice the kernels off 2 ears of corn. This amount ends up being about 2 cups of corn. Look for ears where the husk is tightly wrapped and the silk at the top is slightly damp. They will be most fresh.
• Orecchiette is ear-shaped pasta. I love it for this recipe, because these noodles scoop up the corn and tomatoes. 
• Scallions add mild onion flavor. I sauté the white parts with the corn and tomatoes and stir in the green parts during the last step because they do the job of fresh herbs.
• Olive oil: Use extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.

For pesto:

• Basil: Pull the basil leaves off their stems before you measure them. They should be bright green. Basil is delicate, so if you do see a few dark wilted spots, just tear them off and use the rest of that leaf.
• Garlic: The pesto calls for 2 garlic cloves.
• Walnuts: It helps bring out the nuttiness of the walnuts to toast them in the oven at 350 degrees F for 5-7 minutes. You can substitute with pine nuts or almonds.
• Parmesan: Besides including grated parmesan in the pesto, I also like to garnish the final dish with it.
• Lemon juice adds so much wonderful freshness. Use an actual lemon and not bottled citrus juice.
• Kosher salt and black pepper season the pesto.
• Olive oil: Again, a high quality extra virgin olive oil is important for the overall taste of the entire dish.

How To Make This Tomato Corn Orecchiette

1. Make the pesto. Chop the garlic, basil, walnuts, parmesan, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. With the motor running, pour the olive oil through the feeder tube mixing until it’s fully combined.

2. Cook the orecchiette. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the recommended cook time on the package.

3. Sauté the tomatoes. Warm the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium high heat. Give them 4-5 minutes to start to wrinkle. 

4. Stir in the corn and white parts of the scallions. Keep sautéing, stirring frequently, until the corn turns bright yellow and the tomatoes wrinkle more and some of them burst, about 3-4 minutes.

5. Transfer the pasta from the pot to the skillet and fold in the pesto. You can use a slotted spoon or a spider to move the pasta. I like doing it this way this because some of the cooking water clings to the orecchiette.

6. Stir in the green scallions and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Serving

Spoon the pasta into a bowl or onto a plate and serve it with an arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette, a classic house salad or an Italian chopped salad. You can also include a piece of crusty bread on the side.

Leftovers & Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat them with a little oil in a skillet on the stove or in the microwave. I also love eating leftovers as a pasta salad, adding baby arugula or spinach and a splash of vinaigrette.

Recipe Tips

Prep all the ingredients before you start cooking. This is a fast pasta recipe. It will throw off your timing if you try to sneak in chopping.

Don’t overcook the pasta. Look at the suggested cook time on the package instructions. You want it to turn out al dente.

Timing is key. While the pasta simmers on one burner, I sauté the corn and tomatoes on another. Then I use a slotted spoon to move the orecchiette from the pot to the pan. The tomatoes and corn are more forgiving with timing, so you can take them off the heat for a few minutes if you are waiting on the pasta.