Creamy Corn Pasta With Basil

Every year, PHCSA Coordinator Colleen Kestner looks forward to corn season specifically for this pasta. She discovered this Melissa Clark recipe a few years ago as a way to use up the mid-season bounty of corn, but now can’t wait for it every year. It satisfies the creaminess and smokiness of a carbonara but with a fresh summer twist.

Creamy Corn Pasta with Basil

by Melissa Clark for the New York Times

Serves 3-4

• 12 ounces dry orecchiette or farfalle

• 4 ounces of pancetta or bacon, diced (optional)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling (skip if using pancetta or bacon)

• 1 bunch scallions (about 8), trimmed and thinly sliced (keep the whites and greens separate)

• 2 large ears corn, shucked and kernels removed (2 cups kernels)

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, more for serving

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste

• ⅓ cup torn basil or mint, more for garnish

• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

• Fresh lemon juice, as needed

• Fine sea salt

PREPARATION

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until 1 minute shy of al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.

2. Meanwhile, sautée pancetta or bacon until crispy, if using, then remove from pan and set aside, leaving rendered fat in pan. If not, heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add scallion whites and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and all but 1/4 cup corn; simmer until corn is heated through and almost tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, transfer to a blender, and purée mixture until smooth, adding a little extra water if needed to get a thick but pourable texture.

3. Heat the same skillet over high heat. Add butter and let melt. Add reserved 1/4 cup corn and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. (It’s O.K. if the butter browns; that deepens the flavor.) Add the corn purée and cook for 30 seconds to heat and combine the flavors.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add pasta and half the reserved pasta cooking water, tossing to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then add a little more of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too thick. Stir in 1/4 cup of the scallion greens, the pancetta (if using), the Parmesan, the herbs, the red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice to taste. Transfer to warm pasta bowls and garnish with more scallions, herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.

Recipe Round-Up

Member Juliana Guimarães shared a round-up of her favorite recipes from all of last season’s CSA. As you can tell, she got creative with all those delicious veggies and experimented a lot. We’re so happy to share some of the recipes she recommends. If you make them, let us know and send photos!

Breaded Eggplant Cutlets - So delicious and easy to do it!

Butternut-Sausage Lasagna - As a granddaughter of Italians, lasagna is one of my favorite dishes of all time! When I came across this recipe was pure delight.

Brazilian Carrot Cake - As a Brazilian I was so surprised when I tried the carrot cake here in the USA, it’s completely different from the cake I grew up eating. So when I saw all the amazing carrots I got from the share, my first thought was: Carrot Cake!


Cabbage Rolls - For a period last season we got cabbages every week, and I need to be creative to make sure we are eating all before the next week come. So it pops on my mind the dish my grandmother used to do and I never cooked. My husband loved so much that he keeps asking me “When will you do Cabbage Rolls?”

Tabbouleh - I can eat an entire bowl of Tabbouleh on my own. I love it so much!

CSA Salad Recipes

The beginning of the CSA season always brings a LOT of greens! It’s easy to get stuck in a rut with salads. One of our CSA member recommends a sesame-ginger dressing to inspire you. Here are some of her favorite combos, and a recipe for the dressing!

Sesame-Ginger Dressing

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce (or sub coconut aminos)

• 2-3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 1 ½ tablespoons pure maple syrup

• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

• 1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger

• Optional if you want a creamy dressing: add 1 tablespoon tahini or cashew butter

Make the dressing by whisking together the following in a medium bowl or shaking in a mason jar: sesame oil, olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, garlic and fresh ginger. If you want a creamier dressing, add in a tablespoon of tahini or cashew butter.

Combo 1

CSA Oakleaf lettuce
CSA Tomatoes
CSA Cucumbers
Grapes
Manchego cheese
Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Combo 2

CSA Arugula
CSA Scallions
CSA Tomatoes
Avocado
Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Sesame-Ginger Dressing

Spicy Curry Noodle Soup with Koji, Sweet Potato & Chicken

With our first ever fresh ginger from Windflower Farm, PHCSA Coordinator Colleen Lynch riffed on this Epicurious recipe to maximize CSA ingredients (and simplified the cooking steps per the comments!) Absolutely delicious, easy & could be a one-pot meal if you cooked the noodles directly in the soup!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 thinly sliced white onion or 2 thinly sliced shallots

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 tablespoons lemongrass* (from bottom 4 inches of about 3 stalks, tough outer leaves discarded)

• 2 tablespoons minced or grated peeled fresh ginger

• 2 tablespoons Thai yellow or red curry paste*

• 2 tablespoons curry powder

• 1 teaspoon hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek)*

• 2 13.5- to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk,* divided

• 5 cups low-salt chicken broth

• 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)*

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• 1 bunch of koji or other choy, stems chopped to 1/2-inch pieces, leaves roughly chopped, separated

• 1 large red-skinned sweet potato (yam), cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

• 1 pound dried rice vermicelli noodles or other Asian noodles* (I used buckwheat soba noodles)

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, thinly sliced

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

• 1/4 cup crushed peanuts

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• 1-3 red Thai bird chiles or red jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced with seeds

• 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

PREPARATION

1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in curry paste, curry powder, chili paste, and 1/2 cup coconut milk. Stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, and sugar; bring broth to boil.

2. Bring pot of water to boil for noodles, if cooking separately. Cook noodles according to package instructions until just tender but still firm to bite, about 6 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to stop cooking. (Alternatively, you can add noodles to broth 2 minutes after sweet potatoes in next step.)

3. Meanwhile, add chicken thigh slices to boiling broth and stir. After 2 minutes, add cubed sweet potato. After 6 additional minutes, add choy stems. When chicken and vegetables are

4. cooked, about 2 additional minutes, add choy leaves to wilt.

5. Divide noodles among bowls and top with hot soup. Scatter green onions, peanuts, cilantro, and chiles over soup to taste. Garnish with lime wedges and serve with sriracha.

   *Available at some supermarkets, at specialty foods stores and Asian markets.