Buying supplies for my rooftop garden, I had an after thought.” Why not try growing corn in the planters? I am sure it will look beautiful and rustic.” I picked up a cell pack of corn seedlings and headed up to the garden to plant.
The plants grew tall and the sides were swollen with cobs. We boiled the first few cobs and ate them very simply: plain. We had a row, not a cornfield, so our crop was limited.
For the rest of the crop, I wanted to stretch our yield on the table. The whole Summer long I had been making and enjoying corn from the market, Mexican street style. To make it, you barbecue corn, slather it with mayonnaise, sprinkle it with chile powder, roll it in grated queso fresco, and then squeeze fresh lime juice on it. This was the inspiration for the pasta dish I came up with.
Corn Lime Chile Pasta
fresh corn on the cob
dry corn pasta [available at Whole Foods or other health conscious stores]
lime leaves [available in Asian markets]
chile powder
queso fresco
whole limes
a mild flavored oil such as canola
Heat barbecue and when it is hot, barbecue corn turning it several times until it is cooked and lightly charred in spots.
Grate the cheese on the large holes of a box grater
Fill a pot of water and put in the lime leaves. I used about 10 leaves in the water for a half a package of the pasta. You want to flavor the water in which the pasta will boil. The purpose is to infuse the pasta with a taste of lime. Boil the pasta with the leaves until pasta is done.
Hold the corn cobs vertically and cut the corn off the cob with a sharp knife.
Drain the pasta. Remove and discard the lime leaves. In a serving dish, add oil to the pasta until it is lightly coated. Top the pasta with the corn, chile and grated cheese. Toss and serve with lime wedges.
