Roasted Corn Pasta Salad

This delicious pasta salad is the perfect accompaniment to Black Bean Burgers and it's always the side that I order with my meals at the Elk in Spokane. I've adapted their recipe to make at home. And although I'm definitely not a fan of chipotle peppers, the flavor works perfectly here, adding just the right kick of spice, yet staying anonymous, making everyone ask the question: What's in here?!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon melted butter (skip this to make it vegan)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup onion (finely diced)
• 1 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1lb uncooked curly or twisty pasta (such as Gemelli or Fusilli)
• 1 cup lowfat mayonnaise (use vegan mayonnaise to make it vegan)
• 2 cups packed fresh cilantro (roughly stemmed)
• 2 tablespoons chipotle puree

Directions

	Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine corn, onions, butter, and oil together on a baking sheet. Using a spatula, mix together to coat corn and onions. Roast until corn and onions begin to brown, approximately 15 minutes. Once cooked, remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack until ready to use.
	Meanwhile, puree a can of chipotle peppers. (Use the entire contents of the can). Once pureed, measure out 2 tablespoons and set aside. Reserve leftovers by freezing them for later use.
	Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. (Yes, this goes against everything you've ever read about not rinsing pasta but it's necessary here). Once pasta is completely drained, add into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Combine cilantro, chipotle puree, and mayonnaise in a food processor (or blender). Once throughly combined, add mixture to pasta in bowl. Add roasted corn and onions and stir to mix all together. Salt to taste. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Please note: If not served immediately, you'll need to add more of the mayonnaise mixture or it will taste too dry).

*    *    *    *

Between posts on my website, I document my life on Instagram. You can follow along with me there.

*    *    *    *

Comments

[katie]

This sounds really really delicious and like a dose of summer (which is exactly what I need on a cloudy rainy day like today!)

[carole]

If I can find chipotle puree I may try this (though will replace the mayo with plain yogurt).

Definitely want to give the burgers a try!

[Laura-Lea]

This makes me think of Warm Corn Salad. I haven't made it in years, tonight it will be on the menu. Yours looks delic. will be trying it next:)

[elyse]

mmmm. i've been looking for things to cook that will shake up the "rotation." looks really good.

xo
elyse

[Becci L.]

This looks delicious! I've never seen the canned chipotle peppers, but I will be on the look out next time I get groceries!

[Kim-HomeIsWhereTheHeartIs]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...now that looks YUMMY :)

[Jessica]

this looks positively amazing! must add this to my meal plans!

[Kristin Z]

Thanks Serena for posting this! I ate at Moon Time (same owners) over the holidays and thought, "Ive got to figure out how to make this!" So thanks for doing the footwork for me :)

For people who are unsure about finding chipotle peppers, I've always found them near the jarred salsa and canned green chiles. Our you may have to go somewhere with a hispanic foods section. I puree mine just like Serena and freeze the rest.

Can't wait to make this!

[liz grundvig]

I love ANYTHING roasted!!! (Well, not liver... never liver!)

[Amy]

Yum! Looks delicious, and makes me long for summer.....

[Jill]

All I can say is THANK YOU! We frequently visit the 2-7 Public house (for some reason we like it more than the Elk) and sometimes we joke about just ordering the corn pasta salad. Recently I spent $20 on this same salad to take for a potluck at work and now we can have this whenever we want for a fraction of the price! We were not smart enough to figure out what was in it!

[Jen]

YUM!!!

[Marcia]

This sounds delicious, and something even my vegetarian hubby can eat. Thanks for the recipe!
Blessings,
Marcia

[Erin]

Serena, this looks amazing! I'm making it for our camping trip this weekend. Hugs, Erin

[Lilia Bizier]

I haven't tried to cook that roasted corn pasta salad, and I'm very sure my kid and husband will love that. We love all different kind of pasta, thanks for sharing.. :)

[Laura]

Thank you so much for the recipe! It was great...just like The Elk! YUMMMM!!

[Kim]

Can you use something other than the chipotle sauce? I am not a spicy person.

[Karen]

Hi Serena, I was so happy to find this recipe. However, I combined the cilantro, pureed chipotle peppers and mayo together, and it turned out green. When I did it again the second time I made it, I combined the peppers & mayo then stirred in the cilantro and found it to look more like the pasta I ate at The Elk. Not sure if that was a typo or if it just didn't turn out right for me? Anyway, thanks again for the recipe, it's very good!

[Cheri]

Thank you so much for figuring out this recipe! I was just at The Elk a couple of nights ago and have been dreaming of this pasta salad ever since. I will be making this tomorrow. YAY!

[Rachel @ A Balanced Palate]

I'm SOO excited to make this! Love the flavor of chipotle and cannot get enough recipes using it.

[Heather]

This was amazing! I made it for Easter lunch and my entire family (15-20 people) loved it! It's also good hot :)

[Maria]

This looks amazing! I was wondering how many people this recipe serves! =]

[Red]

Would it be ok to use plain greek yogurt instead of mayo?