The Straightforward Corn Salad I Make Each Summer season

You do not want rather more than butter, salt, and pepper to assist recent seasonal corn shine; its candy, nutty taste speaks for itself. That stated, summer season would not be full with out batches and batches of esquites, a Mexican avenue corn salad loaded with Cotija cheese, recent cilantro, and mayonnaise. It is creamy, savory, and tangy, and although I make it virtually weekly each single summer season, I’ve but to tire of it.

The recipe for this salad comes from former Critical Eats editor Kenji, who explains that this traditional Mexican dish is  an “off-the-cob” model of the favored avenue meals elotes, charred corn that is dressed with a combination of Cotija cheese, mayonnaise, and bitter cream. Like its on-the-cob cousin, the salad is seasoned with garlic, cilantro, and chile powder, with loads of recent lime juice to chop via the richness of the dairy. The place the 2 recipes differ is that the salad requires no grill. As an alternative, our esquites recipe requires searing the corn kernels in a pan on the stovetop, which boosts the corn’s pure sweetness. As soon as the kernels are charred, you may toss them along with the opposite salad elements in a big bowl. It is so simple as it will get.

Though the dish is particularly scrumptious with recent corn, I’ve made it with frozen kernels within the wintertime. Simply give the corn a couple of extra minutes to sear, as the extra moisture from the ice crystals might make it more durable to get a very good char on the corn. You do not even must defrost the corn earlier than cooking—I prepare dinner it straight from frozen on excessive warmth till it is properly browned. 

The charred kernels are candy and flavorful, and the jalapeño’s warmth and the recent lime juice brings acidity and brightness to the Cotija cheese and mayonnaise. You possibly can serve it alongside grilled meat or fish, nevertheless it’s simply as scrumptious eaten by itself as a snack or appetizer. It is my favourite factor to make in July and August, or any time of 12 months after I need one thing delightfully summery.