Spaghetti with Corn Carbonara and Crab
7 ears of corn, shucked
1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 pound guanciale**, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 medium shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus finely grated zest, for garnish
Salt
Pepper
1/2 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
Extra-virgin olive oil and shichimi togarashi***, for serving
On a work surface, cut the corn kernels off of the cobs; using the sharp side of the knife, scrape the pulp off the cobs. You should have 4 cups of kernels and pulp. Transfer the kernels and pulp to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids.
In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
Wipe out the saucepan and melt the butter in it. Add the guanciale and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered, about 7 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spaghetti, strained corn puree, 1 1/4 cups of the pasta cooking water and the lemon juice. Cook over moderate heat, tossing, until the sauce is thickened and creamy, 3 to 5 minutes; add more of the cooking water if necessary. Season the pasta with salt and pepper and very gently fold in the crab. Transfer to shallow bowls and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with lemon zest and shichimi togarashi and serve right away.
Make Ahead
The strained corn puree can be refrigerated overnight.
**Guanciale is Italian cured pork cheek or jowl. It's traditionally used in classic pastas, like spaghetti all carbonara and bucatini all'amatriciana. Because it's largely fat, guanciale has a more seductive pork flavor and delicate texture than cured meat that comes from the belly (like pancetta, which is a common substitute, though the flavor isn't the same).
To make guanciale, you rub pork cheeks with some combination of salt, sugar, pepper, herbs and spices and then air dry them for several weeks. If you're feeling ambitious, try making your own. There is a recipe in Mario Batali’s The Babbo Cookbook.
Guanciale: Made from the jowls of hogs, the meat is rubbed with pepper before aging, and is less fatty than its common substitute, pancetta.
***shichimi togarashi - Japanese 7 Spice - The exact ingredients and ratios may change from blender to blender, but seven spice powder is built on a foundation of chiles, dried orange peel, Sichuan peppercorns, sesame seeds (white and/or black), dried ginger, and seaweed. It likely originated in 17th century apothecaries, after chiles were introduced to Japan as a form of medicine.
