Grilled Corn and Tomato Fettuccine

Grilled Corn and Tomato Fettuccine.

June 13, 2011

Last summer I fell in love with a million things.

Nude nail polish, avocado toast, baked beans on top of eggs and super long walks with lots of gossip to name just a few.

Oh and cold beer. A little late on that train, but…. better late than never.

By far, the cream of the crop was grilled corn. Best.thing.ever. Enamored. Have you tried this? Probably. I always seem to jump on the bandwagon just as everyone else is getting off. I’m totally a late bloomer. No, I’m not talking training bras – I’m talking about how I continued to wear denim overalls for about four years after they were out of style. How I got perms up until I was in seventh grade. How I wore purple silk shirts with paisley vests when I was 14. How I still have a hideous poncho hanging in my closet because it might come in handy someday. How I try to wear a cool linen scarf in summer with a white tank and look like a total dweeb.

Anywaaaaay. Too cool for school. That’s me.

Grilled corn is the bees knees. It gets charred and caramely and sweet and sugary and melts in your mouth like only buttery corn off the cob can. It took us about 16 weeks to learn how to properly grill it… but boy was it worth it. Last June we nearly grilled it bare and was left with corn that tasted like a delicious ashtray. In July we feared the grill grates and cooked it waaaay too long on waaaay too low heat and ended up with plain, boring corn on the cob. In August, we got things right for a hot minute and mastered the perfect bite: sweet bicolor corn with a few charred specks of caramel. Perfection.

It became a thing. A serious thing.

An addiction. A tradition. And it also became an excessive waste. I was buying a dozen ears for two of us and grilling all 12. We were in desperate need for a few grilled corn dishes other than the common treat of getting it stuck in between our teeth.

Sooo… I also grilled the tomatoes, which was in a word… awesome. Kind of messy, kind of not working, kind of having an end result of insanely fabulous. Simple meals make the best meals.

Grilled Corn and Tomato Fettuccine

serves 2-4

1 pound whole wheat fettucine

4 large ears of corn

3 vine tomatoes, cut in half

1 green pepper, seeded and sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup + 3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat the grill on the highest setting. Remove most of the husk from each ear of corn and brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. You can leave it in the husks, but I choose to wrap it in one layer of aluminum foil, leaving a bit loose so I can check to see if the corn is charring. Lay corn on the grill on direct heat and cook on each side for about 5-6 minutes before rotating – overall the corn usually takes us about 30 minutes for the char we like. After adding corn to the grill, slice tomatoes in half. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then lay on the grill cut side down. I do NOT seed or juice my tomatoes and love the end result, but as a warning, they will stick to the grill a bit. Cook for 5 minutes before rotating. Repeat the same (oiling, salt/pepper) with the green pepper and grill. That green pepper and tomatoes should take about 6-8 minutes to grill, but it is up to you and dependent on the level of char you like.

Boil water and prepare pasta according to directions. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil, parmesan cheese and garlic. Add fettuccine to the bowl and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Once corn is finished, unwrap and let cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to touch, slice corn off the cob using a sharp knife. Slice grilled tomatoes into wedges. Add corn, tomatoes and green peppers to pasta. Top with additional parmesan cheese.