Street Corn Salad

Fresh, creamy Street Corn Salad will be an instant hit at your next gathering.

It is true, I’ve had a thing for corn lately.  And yes, I know that Cinco de Mayo was yesterday.  But is anyone truly against celebrating a little bit longer?  Like all summer?  Yep, seems like a great idea to me!  I have recently discovered elotes–Mexican Street Corn– and all I can say, is if you haven’t discovered them yet, you are missing out.  Admittedly, though, elotes are messy-and there are times when messy just won’t work (think first dates and work parties).  This is where Street Corn Salad comes in.  All of the same flavors as elotes, hold the napkins.

This spoonable salad has the all of the creamy goodness, plus the charred corn taste and the salty cheese, found on the elotes, without risking a face full of sauce.  It is also fabulous to eat as a dip, served with tortilla chips.  This particular recipe was adapted from the amazing J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats fame.  If you are a nerd like me who likes to know how (and why) something works, check out his book The Food Lab.  His commitment to the science of cooking is just short of phenomenal (in fact he won a James Beard Foundation Book Award for 2016).

Make this salad for your next picnic or party.  Your guests will thank you!

Print

Street Corn Salad

This perfect summer side dish can be served as a salad or as a dip for tortilla chips.

Course Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Adapted from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's "The Food Lab"

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 ears of corn
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 ounces of Cotija cheese crumbled
• 1/2 cup scallions finely sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño seeded and finely chopped
• 2 medium cloves of garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
• Tortilla chips optional

Instructions

1. Using a knife or corn cutter, strip the corn off of the cobs.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet or cast iron skillet.
3. Add the corn kernels and salt and toss.
4. Allow to cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes, until charred on the side touching the pan.
5. Repeat, tossing the corn and allowing to cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes on each side-until charred on each additional side.
6. Place corn in a large bowl.
7. Add mayonnaise, Cotija cheese, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and chili powder and combine.
8. Serve hot or cold.