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Summer squash and corn pasta with miso, lemon, and fried capers

Yield: 4

Overview: Fry the capers, make a sauce, cook the pasta, and finish the pasta in the sauce.

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Ingredients

For the pasta

• 1 lb summer squash (about 2 medium-sized), thinly sliced
• 2 ears corn, shucked, kernels removed (see tip)
• 2 teaspoons white miso
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• pinch chili flake
• ¼ cup capers, drained
• 1 lb short pasta (like orecchiette, cavatelli, or strozzapreti)
• ½ cup parmesan, finely grated

To serve

• zest of 1 lemon
• ½ oz basil leaves, torn
• freshly cracked black pepper or chili flake

Instructions

1. Fry the capers. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the capers and cover with a lid (it will splatter). Fry for 3-5 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the capers are browned and crispy. Drain on paper towels.
2. Saute the aromatics. Heat a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, miso, garlic, and chili flake and cook for a minute or two. The garlic can brown lightly, but be careful not to burn it.
3. Add the veggies. Stir in the squash and corn and saute for 10 minutes. Add a splash of water if the veggies start to catch on the bottom of the pan. Set aside until the pasta is cooked.
4. Boil the pasta. While the veggies cook, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Season generously with salt - a good starting place is a teaspoon of salt per quart of water. Cook the pasta 2 minutes short of al dente (it will be undercooked in the middle). Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of pasta water (see tip).
5. Finish the pasta in the sauce. Add the pasta to the veggie skillet along with a ½ cup of the pasta water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the pasta is al dente. Add more pasta water if the pan gets dry. When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and toss in the parmesan and capers. Stir it in so the cheese melts into a creamy sauce. Taste for salt, and adjust.
6. Plate. Spoon the pasta onto a plate and top with basil, lemon zest, and black pepper. A bit more freshly grated parmesan never hurts.

Tip

To remove corn kernels from the cob, first shuck the corn. Lay the cob on your cutting board. Treat the cob like it has four sides. With a sharp chef’s knife, cut straight down to remove all of the kernels from one side. Rotate the cob so the cut side faces down. Repeat on the remaining three sides.

Finish your sauce with the pasta cooking water. The starch released from the pasta during cooking helps create a creamy emulsified pasta sauce.

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EXTRA IDEAS

If you’ve never tried making your own pasta, a semolina dough is a great place to start. You don’t need a pasta roller or any fancy equipment. Just the semolina and water.

Semolina Pasta