Name: Four Cheese Corn Pasta
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 cloves garlic; 1/2 bunch spring onion; 1 lemon; 2 tbsp butter; 1/2 cup white wine; 3 cups chicken stock; 2 cups corn kernels; 350 g pasta shells; 100 g feta cheese; 1 cup grated cheddar and mozzarella mix; 100 g parmesan cheese

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This Four Cheese corn pasta bake with grilled cheese topping is a one pot wonder and a guaranteed family favourite.

Corn is one of those foods that all kids seem to love. I mean - we’ve all seen the corn video - Tariq expressing his love of corn - I can't imagine a more beautiful thing! I think he expressed it pretty well, it’s juicy, it’s golden, it’s sweet, it’s delicious.

Pair it with pasta shells and four cheeses and you’ve got a match made in heaven, and a dinner that sits firmly on our “Designed for Kids” list. I mean, show me a child that doesn’t like pasta, corn and cheese!

But what makes this Four cheese pasta particularly good, not just for kids but for all diners, is the combination of white wine (which we reduce down) and lemon juice. The lemon juice manages to cut through the richness of the four cheeses so it’s not over the top cheesy - just the right amount of cheesy.

Add white wine and cook until wine reduces.

I also love how simple this recipe is. We’ll cook the corn and pasta all together in the one pot, and use the perfect amount of cooking liquid to absorb. This means we don’t have to drain the pasta AND we get the benefit of that lovely starchy pasta water residue that will make our cheesy sauce nice and glossy. Also, the shells are the perfect shape to nestle little pieces of corn, and so each mouthful has a creamy sauce and a juicy burst of flavour.

Mix lemon juice, half the cheddar and mozzarella mix and the parmesan through the pasta and scatter over remaining cheese.

From there, it’s simply a matter of stirring the four cheeses and lemon juice through the pasta, sprinkling a little more pasta on top and popping it under the grill for a few minutes.

You’ll have a bubbling, golden, molten cheesy dinner ready to go.

Oh, and if you like bubbling cheesy dinners you have to try my 30 minute Vegetable Lasagne - that's right, it's ready in just half an hour, or my favourite 30 minute Moussaka. Check these out below!

Four Cheese Pasta Ingredients

Garlic
Spring onion
Lemon
Butter
White wine
Chicken Stock
Corn kernels
Pasta shells
Feta cheese
Grated cheddar and mozzarella mix
Parmesan cheese

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Four Cheese Pasta

1. Peel and crush garlic. Trim and finely slice onion. Juice lemon.

3 cloves garlic
½ bunch spring onion
1 lemon

Cook garlic and onion in a hot pan with butter.

2. Place an oven-proof, lidded frying pan on high heat and add butter, then once bubbling, add garlic and onion. Cook until fragrant (1 minute).

2 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic
½ bunch spring onion

3. Add white wine and cook, stirring for a minute until wine reduces.

½ cup white wine

Cook pasta in the pan covered until al dente.

4. Add chicken stock, corn kernels and pasta and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Cook for 10-12 minutes until pasta is al dente, stirring every 2-3 minutes.

3 cups chicken stock
2 cups corn kernels
350g pasta shells

Prep the feta, cheddar and mozzarella mix and parmesan.

5. Meanwhile crumble feta, measure out cheddar and mozzarella and finely grate parmesan. Turn on your oven grill.

100g feta cheese
1 cup grated cheddar and mozzarella mix
100g parmesan cheese

6. Once pasta is al dente, you have the option of serving your child their portion pasta and corn now, with a little Parmesan, or they can have the full four cheese experience - this is up to you.

For adults, mix lemon juice, feta, and half the cheddar and mozzarella mix and half the Parmesan through the pasta. Scatter over the remaining cheese and put under the grill for 3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and forms a golden crust.

Juice of 1 lemon
100g feta cheese
1 cup grated cheddar and mozzarella mix
100g parmesan cheese

Four Cheese Pasta - Serve gooey and straight from the pan.

7. Serve gooey and straight from the pan. Enjoy!

Substitutions

Alternative Protein - You could really pimp up this dinner by adding crispy bacon or pancetta to the top at the end.
Vegetarian - This dinner is vegetarian.
Gluten Free - Use short gluten free pasta like these pasta spirals to make this dinner gluten free.
Dairy Free - Swap butter for olive oil or dairy-free spread. Instead of “four cheeses”, add nutritional yeast and dairy free shredded parmesan on top. If you don’t like dairy free cheese, I’d recommend adding crispy bacon or salty onions on top in place of cheese.

Kid-Friendly Variations

While this is designed for kids, you may also prefer to serve up pasta before you mix the cheese through it and then just add a bit of parmesan at the end.

Four Cheese Pasta - While this is designed for kids, you may also prefer to serve up pasta before you mix the cheese through it and then just add a bit of parmesan at the end.

Equipment

You will need an oven-proof, lidded deep frying pan, a stovetop, an oven grill.

Top tip

Because we’re using the right portion of liquid to pasta you may need to cook your pasta just a little longer than usual to get it to al dente, for instance 12 minutes instead of the usual 9-10. It is important to do this because the pasta won’t cook much more after we stir through the cheeses, so you want it almost ready to go at that point.

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