Orecchiette With Corn, Jalapeño, Feta and Basil Recipe (2024)

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Added some sweet cherry tomatoes to help counterbalance the jalapeño kick.. divine.

SO good! Seriously, you want to make this: it's a celebration of sweet summer corn. But one big tip: Make half the amount of pasta. That's what we did, and the proportions were right-on. With double the amount — that is, what the recipe calls for — we wouldn't have been able to appreciate the corn/feta/jalapeño/herb mixture nearly as much. With that one change, it's a delight!

What about adding some crisped bacon or pancetta, and perhaps some (frozen in this season in NE USA) peas? Sounds as if a touch of pork would up the ante.

I made this recipe and it was delicious, but I made significant changes. As Hatch chiles are in season I had just roasted a large batch. I chopped up a good cup or so and used these instead of jalapenos. I sauteed these in olive oil, not butter, and used 3 ears of corn (I am only one person). I used maybe 8-10 oz of pasta (again, the whole only one person thing). I used goat cheese instead of feta because I prefer it. So, yeah, significant changes, but delicious. Served it with Spanish rose.

I also used about 1/4 the pasta, which made for a better ratio of ingredients.

I agree: fresh corn in season is a MUST. Here are my (I thought tasty!) tweaks:I did 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 butter.I added 1 med. finely chopped shallot with the jalepenoIt needed quite a bit of salt; I also added about 1t. of sugar to bring up the sweetness of the fresh corn.I reduced the pasta to 8 ounces or so (for 4 servings), as we like more veggies than pasta My jalepeno was not very hot so added sriracha at the endAnd before serving put a grating of Parmesan of top with the basil

Outstanding1/2 Pasta, 2x jalapeño, sautéed 2oz pancetta with 1 shallot thinly sliced and diced, handful of halved cherry tomatoes toward the end of veggie sauté. I’d be thrilled to eat this every day with summer fresh veggies.

Great easy summer weeknight meal. Tasted like more than the sum of its parts when made with fresh local corn, lots of basil straight from the garden, and a high quality orchiette. Flaked Maldon to finish was good idea. That said, I could see where less than ideally fresh ingredients would render this dish less interesting.

Also added mushrooms

We really don’t like feta. Is there another cheese that would work in lieu? Thank you!

Very good. I used Trader Joe’s roasted frozen corn. My jalapeño ended up being pretty mild and I’d have preferred more spice. Overall a great, easy recipe for summer dinner.

Another real winner with fresh corn. Noting the comments, I cut the pasta volume in half. I love the way the orecchiette spoons the corn. This one, and Melissa Clark's version, are both going to be added into the rotation. One thing I do with these is simmer the corn cobs in the pot for the pasta. This imbues fresh corn flavor into those little 'ears'.My only complaint (if you can call it one); the feta sticks to my cooking and serving spoons, requiring extra diligent cleaning.

You could substitute cotija cheese for the feta. It's widely available in large grocery stores.

Following other suggestions, I first halved the pasta. No access to quality fresh corn, so I used canned *GASP* (still tasted delicious). Also added one shallot diced up with jalapeño , and a bit after corn I added diced tomato and minced garlic. Salted everything generously along the way. Added more water to sauce, as there were more ingredients to account for. Final edit was crumbling a smaller amount of feta on top before serving - I think the flavor would have been overpowering otherwise.

Add garlic. Onion?

Absolutely delicious! I've made this twice and each time used 1/2 box (8 oz) of the orecchiette - just the right amount. My husband couldn't get enough of this! Fresh corn is the star. I didn't have a whole jalapeño so added a shallot. Also used 1 T. olive oil and 2 T. butter. Only had 6 oz of Feta cheese the second time and couldn't tell the difference. Used the full cup of pasta water. Simple quick recipe.

This recipe is fantastic. A nice reminder of the way such simple ingredients can make something much more than you might expect. Like Hannah, the second time I made this I doubled the amount of other ingredients to pasta and found that ratio more to our liking.

Like others, halved the pasta. Used fresh corn, grilled for more flavor, and also added garlic and shallots to the butter with jalapeño. Family loved the dish!!

Use frozen sweet corn, consider adding chorizo, lemon and Parmesan, and doubling the jalapeño.

I removed the seeds from the jalapeño and that may have been a mistake as I lost the heat. Halved the pasta and added cherry tomatoes and a chopped up chicken breast.

Forwent the jalapeño because husband does not like spicy, could definitely tell that it needed some heat so would recommend red pepper flakes in your own bowl. Also added bacon because husband is obsessed and will eat anything with bacon in it. Used a can of creamed corn instead because that’s all we had in the pantry, so I gave it a good rinse. Would definitely make again - but with the right kind of corn and more of it. Also cut the amount of pasta in half like others suggested.

Love the flavors in this dish but it feels more Greek than Italian, maybe it’s the high quality feta... Made as directed (with 1/2 the pasta, as others have done), used dried chili flakes instead of jalapeño, sautéed chopped shallot with the corn, and topped with chopped fresh Greek oregano & parsley instead of basil.

HUGE hit…..used 1/2 the amount of pasta, added cherry tomatoes and crumbled a little bacon on top. Fresh corn seems a “must”. Outstanding!

i shopped from the pantry and used jarred jalapeno and frozen corn and basil from the garden, added a can of garbanzos. delish and fast.

Used Ciotija because I don’t care for Feta. Used two jalapeños. The pasta was more clumpy than I would have liked. Might try this with a different pasta. Also added a 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder. I live in the Southwest fwiw.

FOR TWO: Delicious! 1 cup good pasta cooked in water (see note) 1/4 red Onion. Saute with 1 Jalapeno. Add 2 cloves of garlic. Add one pint of sliced cherry tomatoes. 2 Ears of corn off cob. Saute 3 min. Add 1/4 C Pasta water. saute 3 min. sprinkle 1/4 tsp red pepper. Add 6 oz chopped Feta. Add Pasta. Add 1/2 Cup pasta water. Saute to coat. 4 slices Bacon on top. Cook cobs in water after cutting off the cob while waiting to boil to add pasta. Remove before adding pasta.

What about Shish*tos?

Delicious! I went with suggestions and used about 2/3 of the orecchiette which worked out perfectly. The corn/ jalapeno combination is surprising in a pasta dish and worked out beautifully with fresh, summer corn. A commenter mentioned they added cherry tomatoes, and so I did, and I liked this addition a lot for both color and taste. I would make this again and I think it's extremely versatile. Easy enough for a weekday meal but special enough to serve as a vegetarian entree for guests.

Wonderful flavors of summer. Great textures on the tongue too. I make this throughout corn season as written except, as with most NYT pasta recipes, use half the suggested amount of pasta or double the sauce.