fruits of labor: summer pasta

this recipe is a combination of a few found in the july 2011 issue of martha stewart living. with all of the fresh vegetables at the moment it was hard to stop at just one recipe....though i would have liked to use a spinach based pasta for color contrast. 

Summer Pasta:
2 tbsp evoo

1 tbsp butter 

3 large cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper 

1 lb of orichette pasta (cooked al dente and 3/4 cup of cooking water reserved)

10 ounces of yellow wax beans or green beans 
 3 ears of corn (steamed and shaved)
1 lemon juiced and half zested into strips (a non-serrated vegetable peeler works best) and slice into match stick sized pieces
3/4 cup of finely grated asiago cheese
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 cup of fresh torn basil




bring a large pot of water to boil - add ears of corn and cook until tender, aprox 7 minutes. remove from water and set aside, with water still boiling add yellow beans and cook until just tender. Remove from water and plunge into ice bath to stop cooking. with water still boiling add a tsp of salt and then add pasta. cook until al dente


while pasta cooks - heat oil in a large skillet over medium/low heat add red pepper and garlic, sautee until golden brown 3-4 minutes. add lemon strips and sautee another minute. add butter, shaved corn and beans toss with cracked black pepper. toss to coat, when butter is melted add lemon juice. cook another 2 minutes and then add cheese, reserved pasta water. toss in pasta and torn basil last, coat well and plate.