Summer Sweet Corn Fettuccine

I love corn. I love pasta. I love bacon. When I saw them combined in this recipe for Summer Sweet Corn Fettuccine I was excited. I'd never seen corn and pasta together before but I was eager to try it.


I knew SP and I wouldn't like the red pepper in Cassie's recipe so when my friend Melissa mentioned this recipe for Fettuccini with Summer Corn, Bacon, and Shiitake Mushrooms I decided to combine the two, basically subbing the mushrooms for the red pepper.

I wanted to like this, I really did, but it suffered from a common problem in my house - whenever I cook pasta and mix it with the sauce before SP gets home from work the pasta immediately soaks up all the liquid and I'm stuck with dry pasta. I misjudged his arrival time and by the time I served up the pasta there was no sauce left. I need to remember to toss everything together at the last minute to avoid this problem in the future.



Summer Sweet Corn Fettucine
Adapted from Cassie Craves and Evil Chef Mom

Salt
1 pound fettuccine
6 slices bacon, chopped
6 ears corn on the cob, shucked
1 onion, finely chopped
12-oz mushrooms, sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
A few dashes of hot sauce
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup sweet basil leaves, cut in a chiffonade

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for a few minutes until rendered and crisp.

Put a small bowl inverted into a large bowl, steady the corn cobs on the smaller bowl and cut the kernels off the ears. Add three-quarters of the scraped corn and any corn liquid to the pan with the bacon. Add the onions and mushrooms and liberally season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Add the remaining corn and half-and-half to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Pour the stock into the corn and vegetables and simmer over low heat for a minute to reduce. Stir in the thyme and corn-cream mixture and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, to thicken. Add the hot sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the pasta to the sauce just before serving and toss with Parmesan cheese. Top with basil and serve.