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Fresh Corn Carbonara

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This recipe for Fresh Corn Carbonara is both easy and delicious! It’s a great weeknight meal. 

Fresh Corn Carbonara with a Quick Cleanup, using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth

Long about now, I feel the need to break into a chorus of Stevie Wonder’s , “Isn’t She Lovely?”

Fresh Corn Carbonara is Technically Not a Carbonara

The purists among you are going to take note immediately that there are no eggs in this dish, so technically, it’s NOT a pasta carbonara. Well, technically, you’re right. Hope that makes you feel better! Now that we’ve gotten *that* out of the way… 😀

I titled it a “corn carbonara” because it really, really reminds me of a true pasta carbonara. No tomatoes in sight, and there’s bacon, garlic, and Parmesan, (all elements of a pasta carbonara). Half and half, puréed corn, and the milk from the corn cob take the place of the eggs, to make a lovely sauce.

Fresh Corn Carbonara Requires Fresh Corn, Because You Use the Cobs 

Then I also incorporate some fresh corn kernels, to give a little burst of sweetness and some crunch to add to the creamy texture. Bacon adds a crunchy salty element, basil adds an herbal brightness, and a sprinkling of hot red pepper flakes adds a slight note of heat. Salty, sweet, savory, creamy, with a hint of crunch: this is a really nicely balanced dish! My family loved it, and I think yours will, too! Perfect for summertime, with all the lovely fresh corn and basil we have available.

Fresh Corn Carbonara with a Quick Cleanup, using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth

You start by frying up some bacon. If you do that on your stove top, you know there’ll be some clean up involved, for sure. I prefer frying my bacon in the oven, in my cast iron skillet. 

 

Fresh Corn Carbonara with a Quick Cleanup, using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth

Remove the corn kernels from the fresh corn. Half of them will go in the sauce. Set aside the other half to sprinkle in the dish at the end.

 

Fresh Corn Carbonara with a Quick Cleanup, using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth

Assembling the dish: the corn and cream sauce, the fresh corn, the Parmesan, and the basil. Stir together thoroughly, till pasta is coated with sauce. I added the bacon at the end of the dish, to finish it, plus a little more fresh basil and Parmesan.

Fresh Corn Carbonara with a Quick Cleanup, using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth

And, we’re ready for our close-up, Mr. DeMille.

Yield: 4 servings

Fresh Corn Carbonara

Fresh Corn Carbonara with a Quick Cleanup, using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth

Similar to a true pasta carbonara, fresh corn carbonara uses fresh corn, the milk from the cob, and some half and half to make a creamy sauce for pasta. I added minced garlic and hot pepper flakes, and substituted half and half for the cream in the original recipe, to adapt it.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. spaghetti
  • sea salt
  • 5 slices of thick cut bacon (about 5 oz. of bacon)
  • 4 minced cloves of garlic
  • 1/4 t. red pepper flakes
  • 4 ears of corn, kernels cut off (about 3 c.) and divided in half; cobs reserved
  • 1/2 c. half and half
  • 1/2 t. sea salt
  • 1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 c. coarsely chopped basil leaves, divided

Instructions

  1. Cook spaghetti in well-salted water, about 1 minute shy of package directions. (The water should be salty like the sea.) You want it al dente: to absorb the corn and cream sauce when you pour that over it. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, and pour it back into the pot you used to cook it in. Cover it with a lid to keep it hot until you pour the sauce over it.
  2. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels.   Crumble or chop the bacon into bite sized pieces. Pour all but about 2 T. of the bacon grease off of the skillet, and return skillet to the  heat. Sauté the minced garlic and red pepper flakes for about 1 minute. You don't want the garlic to burn. Set aside.
  3. Scrape the excess corn cob milk/remnants of corn kernels off the cobs, using the back of a chef's knife.  Scrape that, half of the corn kernels, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, the bacon fat with the sautéed garlic and red pepper flakes, and the half and half into a blender. Purée until a smooth sauce forms.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4 servings

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 411Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 922mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 18g
Fresh Corn Carbonara with a Quick Cleanup, using Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth

Fresh Corn Carbonara. Please pin this on Pinterest!

 

If you’re looking for more easy weeknight recipes, I have a ton. Check out Chicken Dukkah, for example. 

 

barbara

Wednesday 10th of August 2016

I'm going grocery shopping today and I'll look for the scrubs. Corn is fresh all around us so I will definitely make the carbonara! Thanks for the tips! b

imnotasupermom

Tuesday 9th of August 2016

Sold! Both on the scrubbie thingy and on the corn carbonara. It looks so delicious, Susan. The pasta, not the dish cloth.

Susan Williams

Tuesday 9th of August 2016

LOL! I do not recommend the dish cloth as a menu item. Not even if one's purpose were...a colon cleanse.

Christi

Tuesday 9th of August 2016

Susan girl, you are a wonder to this world! It looks great. And I want to run out to find the Scotch-Brite Scrubbing Dish Cloth. I'll let you know if they're on aisle 13 at my Kroger. I probably won't have pictures, though. You'll have to take my word for it.

Susan Williams

Tuesday 9th of August 2016

The aisle 13 Thing cracks me up! I think you could do this without the bacon, too, my friend, and it would still be tasty for a non-meat eater. Maybe use your favorite gluten free pasta?

TheCubicleChick

Tuesday 9th of August 2016

This looks sooo good (sans the bacon as you know, I am weird). And the cleanup looks easy breezy. I will be trying the Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth :-) My recent post Essential Oils Can Help Reduce Workplace Stress

Susan Williams

Tuesday 9th of August 2016

I was so excited when those old burnt on stains that I hadn't been able to get off started coming off!

Michelle

Monday 8th of August 2016

I adore cabonara - and this sounds delicious even if it isn't a true version ;) The corn is a great twist! #client My recent post Check out James Patterson’s Treasure Hunters For Page Turning Fun

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