Roasted Corn, Tomato & Garlic Pasta

As we reach the 2 months-to-the-wedding mark, the meat-eater and i are increasingly on the lookout for quick, healthy dinners.  With an abundance of CSA produce in our teeny-tiny fridge (i bet people who dont live in NYC didnt know that fridges come in 2/3 and 3/4 sizes...  they do and it SUCKS) we're always looking for ways to use that rather than run out to Fairway.  (dont get me wrong, i love fairway.  but its patrons?  not so much...)

When i saw a post on markbittman.com for Pasta with Grilled Corn & Roasted Garlic, i thought to myself - 'ok, fine, more pasta...  but hey, we're getting corn from csa this week...'  (in case you couldnt tell, i've wholly embraced pasta-as-a-vehicle-for-veggies this year...)  and this looks different - we've had the spicy tomato squash pasta about 5854 weeks in a row and as good as it is, i needed a break...

In the past, the corn from our CSA hasnt been their best output...  i'd always blamed it on the fact that i grew up on jersey corn (probably the only thing we ever got from farm stands when i was a kid) and there just was no way that the upstate stuff could compete...  That meant that using the corn as a secondary ingredient was generally a decent way to go...

however, this year proved different...  we had 3 ears of corn this week so friday night, we busted one open to use in fish tacos (our official beach meal) and realized that it was some seriously excellent corn...  which made me even more excited for the roasted corn pasta...  which was good, because the meat-eater needed a bit of convincing...

We made a couple of slight changes - added some roasted tomatoes (as we feared they wouldnt last much longer in our overly-warm apartment) and cut a bit of the butter down (wedding dress diets and all...) and ended up with something awesome... This wasnt a savory pasta - the sweetness of the corn and the roasted garlic were fairly awesome with the butter & oil and the parsley - as a general rule, i dont even like parsley but it totally finished this dish off perfectly...

Can you believe we ever doubted Mark Bittman???

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Roasted Corn, Tomato & Garlic Pasta

courtesy of markbittman.com with adaptations by me

2 ears corn, husks and silks removed, washed
5 garlic cloves, skins on

4 small tomatoes, seeds and gel removed, cut into pieces
1 generous tablespoon sweet butter, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 box (or pound) pasta
1 cup pasta water
1/2 cup Italian parsley, leaves only, washed, finely chopped

Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

***

Preheat the oven to 350°

Place the ears of corn, garlic cloves & chopped tomatoes on a baking sheet or roasting pan.  Keep separated, as they will all be incorporated into the final dish differently.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the entire pan to coat. Season with sea salt and pepper. 

Oven roast about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. 

Remove the corn kernels from the cobs and discard the cobs.

Cut off the garlic skins & discard the skins.  Roughly chop the roasted garlic and set aside.

Prepare pasta in accordance with directions for al dente pasta. 

When draining, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. 

Return the pasta to the still hot pot. 

Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, add 1/2 tablespoon sweet butter, season with sea salt and black pepper, stir well, and cover

In a large pan over medium heat,  melt together the remaining 1/2 tbsp of sweet butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Add the roasted garlic to the butter-olive oil mixture. Add 1/2 cup pasta water. Stir well to combine. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally..

Add the corn kernels to the garlic, butter & oil.  Stir to combine.

Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Toss to coat. 

Incorporate the roasted tomatoes & parsley.  Add the remaining pasta water if you want a thinner sauce. 

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and a crusty baguette.