Corn Cheese Pasta – So Simple Yet So Delicious

This combination of cheese, pepper, and corn is so simple, yet so good! This recipe was a nod to the Cacio e Pepe, one of my favorite Italian pasta dishes, and corn cheese, a Korean bar food classic that you will often find me ordering.

How I Made This Recipe Under 400 Calories -- The Fitsian Method

Pasta, and especially cacio e pepe, is not traditionally seen as a diet food -- but by keeping portion control in mind, especially for higher calorie ingredients, I'm able to keep this dish at 350 calories. Here's what I did to achieve this:

• Used only 1 serving of pasta (~200 calories)
• Portioned out exactly ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese at 80 calories
• Used ⅓ cup of corn (40 calories)

For more low calorie pasta recipes, check out my Pasta Without Pounds recipe collection.

💡Tips and Tricks

Can pasta really be healthy?

Yes -- we actually all need a baseline level of carbs in order to function properly. 1 serving of pasta is definitely a manageable amount. If you want to consume less carbs, you can make this with Fiber Gourmet's Low Carb Pasta.

What cheese is best for cheese pasta?

I used Parmesan for this particular recipe. If you feel like taking your pasta to the next level, you can use Parmesan Reggiano and/or Pecorino Romano (a sheep's milk based cheese often used in Cacio e Pepe and other Italian pasta recipes). I'm definitely planning on incorporating a combination of the two cheeses next time I get my hands on some.

Is corn in pasta good?

Definitely - the sweet crunchy texture makes corn a delicious mix-in pasta, especially those cheesier in nature. My inspiration for the recipe actually came from Korean corn cheese, which showed me how great of a combo corn and cheese make.

📋 Ingredient Notes

• 55g Malfadine Corte (Or pasta of choice)
• ¼ tablespoon Butter
• 2 teaspoon Black peppercorn
• ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese (Pecorino Romano works as well, feel free to mix and match proportions of the two)
• ⅓ cup Corn
• Scallions and red pepper flakes (Optional: For garnish)

🔪 Step by Step Instructions

1. Start by cooking the pasta in salted boiling water according to the time listed on the package instructions.
2. In a skillet, toast the peppercorns for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Then in a mortar and pestle, grind them until they've reached a good powdery consistency, similar to that of sand.
3. Melt half of the portioned butter in a skillet. Once melted, add in the ground peppercorns and corn and mix thoroughly.
4. Take out about half a cup of pasta water from the cooking pasta. Pour about a half of that and reserve the rest to pour a bit at a time into the sauce mixture as needed.
5. Mix in half of the portioned cheese thoroughly. Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce, then add in the remainder of the cheese and butter. Add pasta water in if needed to adjust the sauce consistency to your liking.
6. Remove from heat, top with scallions and red pepper flakes if using, and enjoy your delicious corn cheese pasta!

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🍳 Recipe