Mexican Street Corn Salad, or Elote Off the Cob
I thoroughly enjoyed their version of elote at all, in all of its slightly messy glory (or maybe the messiness was on my part, who's to say?) but I wondered about recreating elote ... off the cob. Would it hold the same appeal of food on a stick? Would the enjoyability factor be retained if you were spooning the same flavors into your mouth rather than munching it from a cob? There was only one way to find out.
Mexican Street Corn Salad (Elote Off of the Cob)
Ingredients
- 6-7 ears corn
- 1 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup crema
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- ¾ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tbsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup cilantro finely chopped
- ½ red onion diced
- ½ cup Cotija cheese
Instructions
- Turn a grill on high heat. Shuck the corn and desilk it while the grill is heating. Rub the clean ears of corn with a tablespoon of butter, or melt the butter and use a rubber brush to coat the corn in melted butter.
- Grill the corn for 10 minutes or until it has a nice char in spots. Remove the corn from the grill to cool until its easy to handle.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the crema, mayo, lime juice, and spices. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Use a knife to cut the corn off of the cob into a large mixing bowl. Add in the red onion and mix together.
- Use a large spoon to fold in the dressing and top with cilantro and Cotija cheese. Mix together and garnish with more of both as desired.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, but can be eaten cold. Do not reheat.
A note about finding crema and cotija, which may be considered "speciality" items in some areas: These are easily accessible in the dairy section of Hispanic grocery stores or tiendas. But these things are becoming increasingly common in mainstream grocery stores in areas with a larger Hispanic population. I found the crema in my local Bi-Lo, and I see cotija cheese there, but not consistently. You can use the green shaker can of Parmesan cheese in place of cotija if you absolutely cannot find any — but it's worth the hunt.
The elote was good hot and fresh as well as eaten chilled from the fridge the next day. I prefer it warm, but it will not reheat well, what with the crema and all.
It's still pretty hot out — are you looking for more cool salad recipes to keep away the heat? Find more chilled salad recipes right here!
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