I do not mean to alarm you, but you need to go out and buy the ingredients for this recipe right now. It’s Labor Day weekend, folks. That means that summer is almost over. That means that corn and tomato season is almost over. Before we say goodbye to summer and fresh, sweet, corn and juicy, ripe, tomatoes, you are going to want to make this pasta dish. Trust me.

I would never have thought to purée sautéed corn kernels and onion into a corn crema, let alone serve that corn crema over pasta, if not for chef Marc Vetri’s beautiful cookbook Mastering Pasta. In it, you will find a recipe for fresh pasta with corn crema and charred spring onion. I borrowed the idea of a corn crema but adapted it to include some of the flavors that I think go best with peak-of-summer corn: tomatoes, basil and spicy green chiles.

To make the corn crema, all you have to do is sauté some onion until soft, add raw corn kernels – preferably cut off freshly picked ears of corn OR frozen kernels that you cut off freshly picked ears of corn – and a little water and simmer until the corn is tender. This mixture is then pureed in a high-speed blender or food processor into a sweet sauce that is amazingly creamy for not containing a single drop of cream. Yes folks, this recipe is not only vegetarian, it’s vegan.

For the green chiles, I used roasted Hatch chiles because it is once again Hatch chile season. But if you don’t happen to have access to fresh Hatch chiles, or a stash of roasted Hatch chiles in your freezer, canned green chiles — which you will find in the Latin foods aisle of your supermarket — will work just fine to bring the undercurrent of heat that this recipe needs.

I know that corn and pasta is not the most intuitive of combinations, but the results here are sublime. My husband went nuts for this recipe. The corn crema coats the strands of pasta like a creamy sauce. The tomatoes add color and sweetness. And we have already talked about how the green chiles bring the heat. I think that the sweetness of fresh corn is a dynamite combination with something fiery, don’t you?

You may also be saying to yourself: “Bucatini, Emily? Really?” But don’t freak out. Bucatini is simply a thicker version of spaghetti with a hole, known as the buco, running down the center. I happen to love bucatini because it has more of bite than spaghetti. In Italy, bucatini is usually served with buttery sauces. In this case, the corn crema coats the long strands in a similar way. You should be able to find bucatini easily but if not, you can use any long pasta that you like, including fettuccine.

Usually, I like to give you guys some lead time and lay out a recipe well in advance of when you might want to make it. Thanksgiving ideas in October, holidays gifts in November and so on. But we do not have that luxury with this dish. It needs to be made yesterday. So make a list right now and write this down: corn-on-the-cob, green chiles, cherry tomatoes and basil. Get everything at the farmers market this weekend. And then come home and blow your family’s mind by serving them bucatini with corn crema, tomatoes and green chiles.

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Bucatini with Corn Crema, Cherry Tomatoes and Green Chiles

Ingredients

• 1 lb bucatini
• 1 TB extra virgin olive oil, diced
• 1 yellow onion
• Corn kernels from 4 ears of corn
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted green chiles
• 12 basil leaves sliced into ribbons
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet.
2. Sweat the onion until translucent but not browned. Add corn kernels, reserving 1/4 cup for garnish, and 1/4 cup water.
3. Simmer the corn and onion until the corn is tender, about 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Puree the corn mixture until smooth in a high-speed blender or food processor.
6. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the bucatini according the package instructions.
7. While the pasta is cooking, pour the corn crema into a large, deep skillet and bring just to a simmer. Add the tomatoes, reserved corn kernels, and chopped green chiles and stir to combine. Season well with salt and pepper.
8. When the pasta is cooked, drain it reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
9. Immediately add the drained pasta to the skillet with the corn crema and toss to coat. Use the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce if it is too thick.
10. Garnish with the ribbons of basil. Taste and adjust seasonings.
11. Serve warm.

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