This spaghetti is my latest “happy accident” dinner. It began with an inefficient stagger around the Sainsbury’s Local (I always think you shouldn’t do food shopping when starving – it leads to odd decisions). Back home, I found that in a daze I’d bought corn on the cob but nothing to go with it. I’d also picked up a box of mini magnums and a block of cheddar – both essential items, I think we can agree, but a meal they do not make.
The combination of these ingredients doesn’t immediately scream pasta, but it makes for the best kind of silky umami sauce. Tossed with spaghetti, you get something akin to Nigella’s Marmite pasta – the Queen of the comfort food dinners. Make it for one, two or scale it up for a crowd and give yourself the gift of a truly simple, satisfying Friday night dinner.
Serves
2
Ingredients
200g spaghetti Olive oil, for frying 160g corn (weight when stripped from the cobs)90g baby plum tomatoes 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced1 tbsp unsalted butter 2 tsp dark soy sauceA lemon, juiced A handful of basil leaves
Method
1. Set a large pan of well salted water on to boil. Cook the spaghetti until al dente, reserving a couple of tablespoons of cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, set a large frying pan over a medium-high heat with a splash of oil. Cook the corn and the tomatoes until most of the kernels are browned and the tomatoes popped and blistered (about eight minutes)
3. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Then remove from the heat and add the butter and soy sauce. When melted, return to the heat and add the lemon. Cook for a minute.
4. Add the pasta and the reserved water to the sweetcorn pan and toss everything together until each strand is glossy.
5. Serve immediately with basil.
The Art of Friday Night Dinner by Eleanor Steafel (RRP £26). Buy now for £19.99 at books.telegraph.co.uk
