Welcome to Kelly’s Kitchen! Summer’s favorite veggie might be corn. We have a recipe coming up on Fridays with Oscar featuring this sweet summer veggie, and today I am adding one more to the list with Bacon and Corn Pasta with Tomato Salad. There are a lot of reasons to love this dish! The meaty bacon and large pasta shells, punctuated with pops of sweet corn, all cloaked in a glossy, savory sauce and topped with a bright and fresh tomato salad. Let’s get right to it!
Bacon & Corn Pasta with Tomato Salad Ingredients
- 12 oz. Bacon, cut into 1/2-inch strips
- 4 Ears of Corn, kernels sliced off the cob
- 16 oz. Large Shell Pasta
- 2 tbsp. Diamond Kosher Salt (or 1.5 tbsp. Morton’s Kosher, or 1/2-1 tbsp. Table Salt) for the pasta water
- 1/4 cup Powdered Parmesan Cheese, plus more for garnish
- Tomato Salad
- 2 cups Grape and/or Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
- 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp. White Balsamic Vinegar
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Several Fresh Basil Leaves, chiffonade cut
- Finishing Touches
- Flaky Finishing Salt
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
How to Prepare Bacon & Corn Pasta with Tomato Salad
Get a pot with 4 quarts of water, covered, set to boil.
Step 1
In a Dutch oven or large pot, sauté the bacon pieces, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until cooked through and beginning to crisp up. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the bacon from burning.
When the bacon is cooked to your liking, cut the heat. Use a spider skimmer to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Use a large spoon to transfer out all but about 3 tablespoons of bacon fat.
Step 2
By now, the water for the pasta should be boiling. Add 2 tablespoons of Diamond Kosher Salt to the boiling water and then add the pasta. Set a timer for 7 minutes. Stir the pasta occasionally to keep it from sticking.
Step 3
While the pasta is cooking, make the tomato salad. Quarter cherry and/or grape tomatoes and stir together in a small bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar. Season with cracked pepper and kosher salt. Stir again and set aside.
Step 4
When the pasta is cooked to just shy of al dente, scoop out 2 cups of the pasta water and drain the pasta in a colander. Give the pasta a shake in the colander every few minutes to keep it from sticking.
Step 5
Back to the Dutch oven with the 3 tablespoons of bacon fat; turn the heat to medium and add 1.5 cups of the pasta water to the fat and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil for about 5 minutes.
Step 6
Then add the corn and stir. Let the corn cook for about 3 minutes, then add the bacon back to the pot. Stir to mix in the bacon.
Step 7
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Now add the pasta to the pot. Stir up from the bottom several times to fully coat the pasta in the sauce.
Step 8
Then add about ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese and pour in about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir vigorously, up from the bottom and around the sides, to fully melt the cheese and coat everything in the sauce. Add more pasta water as needed to keep the pasta glossy.
The pasta will finish cooking to al dente and absorb the sauce, so you are left with a glossy coating of sauce on the pasta, bacon, and corn. Cut the heat.
Step 9
Chiffonade cut several large leaves of basil and add the cut basil to the tomato salad, and give it a good mix. Now we are ready to serve. Scoop a serving of Bacon and Corn Pasta into a wide, shallow bowl.
Step 10
Top the pasta with more Parmesan cheese. Then scoop some of the tomato salad and place it on top of the serving of pasta. Sprinkle some flaky finishing salt and a little cracked pepper on top.
And that’s it! Bacon and Corn Pasta with Tomato Salad. This dish ticks all the boxes. We have meaty, rich, salty bacon; sweet pops of corn and bouncy, chewy pasta shells all coated in the bacon-y, glossy sauce. Then we have acid from the tomato salad to brighten and lift everything. The basil adds a little herby sweetness, and the juicy tomatoes add a nice texture variation.
Most definitely a winner in my book, and a dish you can make year-round. The technique of saucing the pasta with a sauce made from a fat mixed with starchy pasta water is common in Italian pasta dishes (like Pasta alla Gricia), and once you master that technique there are so many variations – it really opens up a whole world of pasta dishes that are not only simple, but so very flavorful and surprisingly light. Try another pasta dish utilizing this technique: Rigatoni with Pancetta and Spring Peas. Thank you all for joining me today. Take care and be well. xo Kelly
Key Equipment
Bacon and Corn Pasta with Tomato Salad
Ingredients:
- 12 oz. Bacon cut into 1/2-inch strips
- 4 Ears of Corn kernels sliced off the cob
- 16 oz. Large Shell Pasta
- 2 tbsp. Diamond Kosher Salt or 1.5 tbsp. Morton’s Kosher, or 1/2-1 tbsp. Table Salt for the pasta water
- 1/4 cup Powdered Parmesan Cheese plus more for garnish
Tomato Salad
- 2 cups Grape and/or Cherry Tomatoes quartered
- 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp. White Balsamic Vinegar
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Several Fresh Basil Leaves chiffonade cut
Finishing Touches
- Flaky Finishing Salt
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions:
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, sauté the bacon pieces, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until cooked through and beginning to crisp up. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the bacon from burning. When the bacon is cooked to your liking, cut the heat. Use a spider skimmer to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Use a large spoon to transfer out all but about 3 tablespoons of bacon fat.
- By now, the water for the pasta should be boiling. Add 2 tablespoons of Diamond Kosher Salt to the boiling water and then add the pasta. Set a timer for 7 minutes. Stir the pasta occasionally to keep it from sticking.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the tomato salad. Quarter cherry and/or grape tomatoes and stir together in a small bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and about 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar. Season with cracked pepper and kosher salt. Stir again and set aside.
- When the pasta is cooked to just shy of al dente, scoop out 2 cups of the pasta water and drain the pasta in a colander. Give the pasta a shake in the colander every few minutes to keep it from sticking.
- Back to the Dutch oven with the 3 tablespoons of bacon fat; turn the heat to medium and add 1.5 cups of the pasta water to the fat and bring to a boil. Let the mixture boil for about 5 minutes.
- Then add the corn and stir. Let the corn cook for about 3 minutes, then add the bacon back to the pot. Stir to mix in the bacon.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Now add the pasta to the pot. Stir up from the bottom several times to fully coat the pasta in the sauce.
- Then add about ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese and pour in about ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir vigorously, up from the bottom and around the sides, to fully melt the cheese and coat everything in the sauce. Add more pasta water as needed to keep the pasta glossy. The pasta will finish cooking to al dente and absorb the sauce, so you are left with a glossy coating of sauce on the pasta, bacon, and corn. Cut the heat.
- Chiffonade cut several large leaves of basil and add the cut basil to the tomato salad, and give it a good mix. Now we are ready to serve. Scoop a serving of Bacon and Corn Pasta into a wide, shallow bowl.
- Top the pasta with more Parmesan cheese. Then scoop some of the tomato salad and place it on top of the serving of pasta. Sprinkle some flaky finishing salt and a little cracked pepper on top.
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