Tomato Corn Orecchiette

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This tomato corn orecchiette is an easy vegetarian pasta recipe packed with zesty and fresh herby flavor. It has basil pesto, lemon and Parmesan.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Pasta & Noodles

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Author: Paige Adams

Ingredients

For pesto

2 garlic cloves
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/4 cup grated Parmesan plus more for serving
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

For pasta

8 ounces orecchiette pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
2 ears corn, kernels sliced off
3 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

Instructions

To make the pesto, finely chop the garlic, basil, walnuts, parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender. With the motor running, pour 1/4 cup olive oil through the feeder tube mixing until the pesto is fully combined.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the tomatoes until they start to wrinkle, about 4-5 minutes.
Then add the corn and the white parts of the scallions. Continue sautéing, stirring frequently, until the corn turns bright yellow and more of the tomatoes wrinkle and some burst, about 3-4 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to take the pasta straight from the pot to the skillet. Stir the pasta and pesto with the tomatoes and corn.
Then fold in the green parts of the scallions and garnish with additional parmesan as desired.

Notes

You can use canned corn or frozen corn instead of fresh. The recipe calls for 2 cups corn kernels. For canned corn, drain and rinse it. For frozen corn, thaw it before you sauté it. Since frozen corn has more water content, it will not turn out as crisp.

For a shortcut, you can use store-bought pesto. Fresh pesto from the refrigerator case at the grocery is best, but jarred pesto is ok too. You will need 1/2 cup pesto, and then stir in the juice of a lemon.

If you want the recipe to be vegan, leave out the cheese or use a plant-based Parmesan or nutritional yeast.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. You can reheat them in a skillet on the stove with a little olive oil or in the microwave. Or eat leftovers cold as a pasta salad with baby arugula or spinach and a splash of vinaigrette.

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