I saw a recipe in a Bon appetit magazine for BUTTERMILK CORN PASTA that called for buttermilk powder. It also called for FRESH corn on the cob that just can’t be found at this time of year easily. I really wanted to make the recipe so I substituted a few ingredients to create this version.
Their recipe called for boiling 3 corn cobs to create a corn water that the pasta is then cooked al dente in. The corn water is the secret ingredient aka liquid gold flavor.
BUTTERMILK CHICKEN CORN PASTA
2-12 ounce packages or 3 cans fire roasted corn
FRESH ground sea salt, to taste
12 ounces of your favorite small pasta
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 garlic cloves, FINELY minced
1 SMALL jalapeno, thinly sliced or diced
1/4 cup basil chiffonades
1 1/2-2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces
½ teaspoon Ancho chile powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup Mexican sour cream
Juice of 1 LARGE lemon
½ cup cotija cheese, plus more for topping
- Add 1 bag of corn to 4 cups of salted water.
- Bring to SLOW boil and boil 10 minutes.
- Puree corn with an immersion blender into the water.
- Using a mesh colander strain the corn water into another pan and bring to a boil.
- Add pasta and cook al dente (1 minute less than package directions).
- Drain, reserving 2 cups of corn water. Set pasta aside.
- Melt butter in a deep pan over medium heat.
- Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about one minute.
- Add the corn, salt and spices cooking and stirring occasionally 4-5 minutes, until the corn has completely thawed and is tender.
- Stir in chicken pieces.
- Whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, lemon juice and 1 cup of the reserved corn pasta water. Stir, adding more pasta water as necessary, until a creamy sauce forms.
- Stir in the cotija cheese.
- Serve immediately.
NOTE:
- Taco seasoning to taste is a great substitute for the individual seasonings.
- If using canned corn, drain first and use corn “juice” in pasta water.