It's here! Summer is here! The long evenings; the quick, fresh meals; the open air markets; the fire lit chats; the summer cocktails poolside.
No one wants to turn their oven on in the summer heat -- central ac or not--so I usually stick to the grill or stovetop. I also really really like to keep things simple. Even supper club is founded on the core belief that food should be good, not fancy. In my opinion some of the most luxurious meals have come straight from the garden and onto the plate.
One of my favorite summer go-to meals (like once a week at least) highlights what's readily available in your garden, farm market, or even grocery store. I am talking about corn! Corn and tomatoes, and if you haven't read my post about tomatoes... you should. I'm slightly obsessed. But, back to corn. This dish is completely adaptable to any vegetable and any meat or seafood that you have lying around. It requires white wine, but even that can be replaced with a dash of vinegar. Butter and cream are a must, but like I said, it's adaptable so olive oil might just do the trick too. It's a simple execution of sautéing
fresh vegetables in butter or olive oil until tender-crisp, adding cream and simmering until the flavors meld, then adding a quick-cooking seafood like cod or shrimp. When the fish is cooked through, pour over pre-cooked pasta. I like serving it with crusty bread to soak up the leftover vegetable cream sauce and a cold glass of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Happy Summer's Start! RECIPE FOR SUMMER PASTA WITH CORN AND TOMATO CREAM SAUCE
Serves 4-6
1 pint of your favorite fresh cherry or cocktail tomatoes***
1 bunch scallions
3 ears of corn
Zest from 1 lemon
1/4 cup white wine
1 stick salted European Butter (or 4 T olive oil)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 pound fresh pasta
1 pound shrimp, flaky white fish, scallops, or clams
Dash red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
-Melt butter in large frying pan or shallow sauce pan on medium heat
-Cut the tomatoes in half lenghthwise.
-Cut the corn off the cob.
-Slice white and green part of the scallions.
-Add the prepared vegetables, red pepper, and lemon zest to the melted butter (or oil) and sauté until tender but not soft.
-Add the white wine and simmer for two minutes until mostly cooked off.
-Add the cream and bring to a simmer.
-Add filet of fish or pound of shrimp to the vegetable cream sauce and cook until opaque. *
-Meanwhile prepare fresh pasta according to package directions in heavily salted water.
-Drain pasta and place in large serving bowl.**
-Pour vegetable cream sauce over it and add salt and pepper to taste.
*if using mussels or clams (or any shelled fish), prepare those in a separate pan by brining a mixture of white wine and broth filled to halfway up the pan to a simmer. Once simmering, add the shellfish and place the lid over the top. When the shells have opened, drain liquid and add to the finished pasta dish.
**Save about a cup of pasta water to thin out the sauce if necessary
***Replace with a mixture of your favorite summer vegetables like squash, zuchinni, fava beans, green beans, shallots....etc
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