Signs of Fall

Now that it is September (!), the first signs of fall are everywhere. Pumpkin beer is popping up on restaurant menus and grocery store shelves; my teacher friends are heading back to work; wool blazers are making their way into my closet; and Hallmark is starting to put out its Christmas ornaments. But while some are starting to think of pot roast, I am still holding on to the last vestiges of summer making meals that focus on corn and tomatoes rather than meat and potatoes.

Last night, for example, I whipped up a pasta dish whose star was corn cut fresh from the cob. Cooked in bacon fat and pureed with pine nuts and parmesan, it is pesto by way of creamed corn. Once the corn is added to the long strands of tagliatelle pasta and topped with bacon and basil, the dish is almost carbonara-like in its creaminess. If I have a chance to make it again before fall is totally upon us, I think I would leave more of the corn whole. It seemed almost blasphemous to not eat it in its purest state. Other than that, and not making this recipe sooner, I have no regrets.

Pasta with Bacon and Corn Pesto
Adapted slightly from Serious Eats

Ingredients:
4 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons
3 cups of fresh corn (from about 5 ears)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup pine nuts
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
3 TBL olive oil
12 ounces of tagliatelle or other flat, wide pasta
¾ cup basil, julienned

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on paper towels.
2. Add corn and garlic to bacon fat and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until corn is tender. Reserve ¾ cup (or more) of corn. Scrape remaining corn into a food processor (or blender). Add pine nuts and parmesan and process until smooth. With the machine running, add olive oil.
3. Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain pasta reserving a cup of the cooking water.
4. Add corn pesto back to the skillet and heat over low. Add ¾ of the bacon and basil. Add in pasta and toss until well coated (use cooking liquid to thin out the sauce if it is too thick). Top with remaining bacon and basil and serve.