Easy Corn & Chorizo Pasta

Happy, happy Friday, friends!

I have the most amazing dish to share with you guys. It’s easy, quick, loaded with flavor, and ideal for kicking off your weekend! It has a few of my favorite things, namely SUMMER CORN (hallelujah!!!) and spicy chorizo sausage. It’s spicy and cheesy but still has tons of freshness from the veggies!

I’m sure by now that when you hear me say “it’s so easy” or “it comes together quickly,” you might roll your eyes a bit. I get it. I say it all the time. I mean it each time I say it, but I DO recognize that my version of quick and easy may differ vastly from your definition. This pasta, though, truly is very easy to pull together.

My key to making pasta dishes like this quick is to bring a large pot of water (salted, of course!) to a boil before I do anything else. It takes the longest. While it comes up to a boil, I prep all my other ingredients and get them going in another pan.

Plus, if the water boils before you’re ready to cook the pasta, it’s not really a huge issue. Just turn the heat down slightly until you are ready to drop your noodles. Drop it like it’s hot, people.

Grate your cheese and prep your veggies all AHEAD of cooking time and you’re golden. Really, this will come together in minutes once you get all the ingredients prepped. And for the record, this recipe doesn’t require a TON of prep. You grate some cheese, halve some tomatoes, dice up some shallot and garlic, and cut some corn off the cob. Literally, MINUTES of effort.

The resulting pasta is dang delicious, I don’t think you’ll mind anyway. It has everything. Spicy chorizo sausage. Sweet pearls of summer corn (I die). Bursting cherry tomatoes. Peppery arugula. A healthy splash of white wine (which feels like a requirement to me in the summer). And loads of salty, buttery parmesan cheese. Gah. Guys, it’s so good.

Chorizo, as I have mentioned a babillion times before, is my go-to when it comes to sausage. In fact, it’s just about the only sausage I really enjoy eating. I’ve never been a breakfast sausage girl (bacon all the way) and savory sausages are waaaay too fennel-y for me (fennel is one of the few flavors I loathe). Chorizo, though, is great because it’s spicy, a little bit sweet, and packed with my kinda flavors: garlic, onion, smoky paprika, and NO FENNEL.

You may have noticed that I often pair chorizo with corn. It’s definitely a trend on the blog (and even more so in my real life); see here, here, and here. Those recipes are all STELLAR and probably some of my most favorite I’ve ever shared. I have a major thing for chorizo and summer corn working together. They belong together.

Throw in a little pasta and cheese, and I’m basically done for. It’s all I require in life. I’m easy to please, guys.

Give me this and an icy cold glass of white wine on a summer evening, and I am in HEAVEN.

Easy Corn & Chorizo Pasta

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• Yield: 4-6 servings 1x

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Ingredients

• 1 lb rigatoni pasta (or pasta shape of choice)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz chorizo sausage, casings removed
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1½ cups fresh sweet corn kernels (1–2 ears of corn)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups baby arugula
• ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped, plus more for serving
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• Salt and pepper, to taste

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Instructions

1. Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Season liberally with salt and cook the pasta until el dente, about 6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the chorizo and crumble with a spatula or spoon. Cook, tossing frequently, until rendered and crispy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the shallot, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the pan and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the shallot starts to soften.
4. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cook for a minute or two or until the wine is mostly reduced.
5. Add in the tomatoes, arugula, and corn, along with the cooked pasta and toss to combine. You want the tomatoes just warmed through and the arugula to wilt. Add a few splashes of the pasta cooking water, as needed, to create a sauce.
6. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in the basil and cheese and toss to combine. Keep tossing until the pasta is well and evenly coated in all the ingredients.
7. Divide the pasta between serving plates and garnish with more cheese and basil, as desired. Serve immediately.

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