Charred Summer Corn Carbonara

• ¾ lb (340g) good quality spaghetti

• 3-4 ears fresh summer corn on the cob, shucked

• ½ lb (200g) thick cut pancetta, thick cut bacon, or guanciale

• ½ cup (120ml) cream

• ½ cup (120ml) ground parmesan

• Fresh basil leaves, chopped

• Fresh black pepper

• Coarse salt

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1. Put a large pot of well salted water on to boil. 

2. While water is boiling, over a gas flame on your stove or a gas grill if you’ve got one, gently char your corn cobs by holding the corn above the flame with tongs, turning as it chars. Gently cut corn off the cob and collect kernels in a  bowl.

3. In a stainless steel frying pan, fry pancetta until brown and crispy. Scrape meat into a bowl, reserving the fat separately.

4. Add spaghetti to boiling water and cook until al dente. 

5. While spaghetti cooks, scrape the excess corn milk from the corn cobs using the back of your knife into a small blender. Add reserved pork fat, cream, ⅓ of your corn kernels, a generous sprinkling of salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Puree until smooth. 

6. In your frying pan, reheat skillet which should still have leftover pancetta browned in the pan. Add all but a handful of your corn kernels and sautee for a few minutes, adding your pancetta back in and scraping the bottom of the pan until the browned bits release. Add al dente spaghetti directly from water, a spoonful of extra pasta water, parmesan and your corn puree. Toss on low heat until water evaporates and pasta is well mixed.

7. Serve by sprinkling with last raw corn kernels, more parmesan, basil, and a final grind of black pepper. 

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