RAVIOLI WITH CORN, KALE AND BASIL

July's finest offerings for simple, delicious dinners.

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Hello!

Welcome to July—peak cherry and berry season, when the market starts exploding with peaches, plums, and stone fruit of every kind, plus the start of tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and corn. I have lots of good, easy cooking in store for you this summer.

But first, I’ve missed you! I took the last two weeks off from my newsletter to style a photo shoot with Anthropologie (gah—it’s gorgeous! I can't wait to show you), and, importantly, see my daughter through her Freshman year of high school and my son through his last week of elementary school. The minute it was over, we hopped on a plane to Chicago to celebrate my baby brother's graduation with his MBA alongside his wife; they are both incredible.

We’ve had the habit of returning to Chicagoland around the Fourth of July for many years. Since we spend most of August in Hungary, it feels great to touch base with my family and home at the start of summer. Midwestern summers are a special thing—blue skies, cartoonishly-perfect clouds, evening thunderstorms, porch dinners, bike rides, double-stuffed ice cream cones, and of course, corn.

It’s not that New York doesn’t do summer well—on the contrary, the Hudson Valley is peak summer fun. Between strawberry and cherry picking (see Our Favorite U-Pick Orchards), the Ulster and Duchess County Fairs, epic fireworks displays, and pool days, we get our summer fill. It’s just that, for all my 30 years living in New York State, the Midwest is still home. This season doesn’t feel right without giving my kids a taste of my childhood summers: My dad’s grilled dinners, sewing projects with my mom, giant wedges of watermelon on the back porch, bike rides to Baskin N’ Robins (it’s the chocolate and peanut butter chunk for me), swinging in my parent’s same-old striped hammock, go-karting with the cousins and throwing the baseball on a patch of perfect turf is restorative in a way few things are for me.

Before we left for the Midwest, I made a graduation-day family lunch for my son and his best pal after their ceremony, which turned out to be a dreamy summer dinner fix worth sharing. It was a jam-packed day, with his morning ceremony, our little lunch date, prep for my photo shoot, and a birthday party I was co-hosting that weekend. While I wanted that family lunch to be special, I knew it also had to be easy —for me.

By a stroke of accidental genius, I had picked up some lovely ricotta and basil-stuffed ravioli at our favorite store earlier in the week for a back-pocket meal, plus four first-of-the-season ears of corn at the tiny farm stand we pass by most days There was plenty of kale and basil in the garden, plus the usual onions and garlic in a bowl on the kitchen counter, calling to be used before they sprouted greens.

In a flash, I had the makings of a lunch I was sure would thrill Mátyás, one of three ravenous pasta-lovers in my family who also happens to be crazy for corn. I stood at the stove, still in my dressy clothes, coaxing flavor from the onions and garlic and getting a corn-on-the-cob steam facial, while juggling calls from Anthropologie, texts from our birthday caterer, and shouts from two busy boys playing catch on the lawn.

I’ve got this, I thought to myself, the mantra of working mothers everywhere. At the close of an intensely busy, often overwhelming school-and-sports year, I felt like a decorated war hero plating a celebratory pasta lunch for five between meetings and calls.

András, Greta, and Máytás’ friend Orson gobbled up their plate of pasta right away (he told his mother that she needs to get my recipes for pancakes, pasta, and brownies!). Matyas, however, said: “It was good. But, Mama, can you make me Mac-N-Cheese next time?” Nothing like raising a tween son to deflate your ego. :)

Regardless, as a born-and-bred corn-country girl (raised in Illinois, and my mom hails from an Iowa corn farm), I stand by this as one of the easiest and most satisfying meals I’ve made lately. I’m leaving the recipe for you here, along with some more corn tips and a round-up of my best corn recipes from my books and past projects, below.

Finally, you may notice a slightly Italian bent on some of my summer content. We booked a trip to Rome, Pompeii, and Positano (and a short detour to Puglia) in early August to satisfy my history and pasta-loving crew, so we’re leaning hard into Italy vibes. If you’ve been to any of these places lately, please share your recs for favorite restaurants, meals, and gelato below! More on Italy, soon.

xx

Sarah

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STUFFED RAVIOLI WITH CORN, KALE + BASIL

This is a simple, pan-to-table-style meal with a few options for enhancing flavor and creaminess, depending on how light or heavy you like your summer meals. I made this (and will continue to make it) with a low-dairy sauce, using only butter and the reserved pasta and corn cooking water to flavor the sauce. If you like a richer sauce and more of it to coat the pasta, see the option to add cream or half-and-half in step 5.

SERVES 4

• 2 - 8 to 9 oz packages stuffed ravioli (cheese, basil, spinach, or artichoke)

• 2 fresh ears of sweet corn (plus more for serving, if desired)*

• Sea salt, to taste

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

• 1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

• Flaky salt, such as Maldon

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (adjust as desired)

• 1/3 cup heavy cream or half-and-half (optional, for a creamy sauce)

• 2 to 3 kale leaves (curly or Tuscan), thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup loosely packed young basil leaves

• Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving (about 1/2 cup or to taste)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a roaring boil (to cook the pasta and the whole corn-on-the-cob, if serving).

2. Prep the corn: Meanwhile, shave the kernels off the 2 ears of corn onto a cutting board in large pieces using a serrated knife. Then, rub the cob with the back of the blade to get all the juicy corn milk off as well (chefs call this milking the cob). Scrape the mixture into a bowl or plate and set it aside to use in step 5.

3. Add the olive oil to a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onions, stirring occasionally until golden and soft, about 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper.

4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta: Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package directions (*if you plan to cook and serve whole kernel corn to serve alongside, drop the heads into the water before the pasta and cook for 2 minutes, then remove. It will season the cooking liquid with a rich corn flavor). Strain the pasta and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.

5. Add the shaved corn kernels and about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water to the pan with the garlic and onions, toss over the heat for about a minute or two to cook the corn. Add cream or half-and-half if desired for a richer sauce (I did not!), letting it simmer just enough to coat. Add the ravioli to the pan along with the butter; Swirl the pan off the heat until the butter emulsifies with the pasta water, forming a silky sauce. Toss together to bring it all together, adding more reserved pasta cooking water as needed to coat the pasta in a buttery, corn, and onion mixture.

6. Taste and adjust the seasoning with Maldon salt and freshly cracked pepper. Divide between four plates and scatter the basil, kale, and parmesan cheese over the top just before serving. (Serve any additional whole cobs of corn on the side.)

*COOK’S NOTE: Buy the best stuffed ravioli you can get. The more flavor inside (think cheese, basil, spinach) and the more tender the dough, the better the finished dinner will be. Still, basic refrigerated ravioli will also do the trick.

MORE YUMMY CORN DINNERS (from my files*):

I love corn in all its forms—especially cornbread, tortillas, and polenta (you’ll find polenta dishes in all my books and recipes for the NYTimes, and don’t forget about Shrimp and Grits, or for vegetarians, this Cheese Grits with Saucy Black Beans, Avocado, and Radish). But from July to September, fresh corn is especially excellent in pasta, pasta salads, soup, and risotto. Here are some of my favorite ways to serve peak-season corn.

Spaghetti with Corn + Chanterelles

Grilled Corn, Tomato and Avocado Pasta Salad

Late Summer Minestrone with Corn, Zucchini and Kale

Summer Seafood Pasta

White (Parmesan) Risotto with Corn and Kale

ON THE SIDE:

My Best Cornbread (a summer must!)

Corn on the Cob* with Herby Green Sauce

*COOK’S NOTE: When it comes to corn on the cob, my mom had one rule: eat it within 24 hours of picking/buying (she knows— her dad grew it)! This means no “fresh” cobs languishing in the fridge. Eat it, stat, the day you bring it home, or shave it and turn it into something great.

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