Mexican Inspired Street Corn (Elotes)
This dish is something I feel in love with when trying it at a local restaurant in NYC; it was a Mexican TWIST on a childhood favorite of mine. When I was kid and my parents made bbq, I would be first in line for my favorite APPETIZER which was flame ROASTED CORN. I would grab the roasted corn and SLATHER it with lime juice and chaat masala, which to this day is this day is still my #1 way of eating corn but this recipe is a strong #2. The pre-packaged roasted corn brings the outdoor bbq smoke flavor but takes away the prep time of standing over a hot grill. The cotija CHEESE has a SALTINESS which offsets the sweetness of the corn perfectly.
PREP TIME: 3 minutes l COOK TIME: 7 minutes l TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes
Ingredients
16 oz roasted corn; I love the trader joe’s one because its available year round but you can also use freshly grilled corn cut off the cob
3 tablespoons water
Juice of half a lime
1/3 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated cotija cheese
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder (optional if you like a little spiciness)
Directions
Serving size: 4 side servings
In a medium sized pan, add the corn with the water and allow it to heat all the way through with the lid on. Maintain the heat at medium and keep an eye on it to prevent burning.
Once the corn is heated through, stir in the lime juice and mayo .
After the mayo is evenly mixed in, turn off the heat and add in the paprika, chili powder and cheese.
Serve hot or refrigerate after it comes to room temperature, this stores easily for 5 days!
Garnish with cotija cheese and cilantro!