Sweet Summer: Mexican Corn




Growing up I only knew of one way to eat corn on the cob - salt and butter and lots of it. Sure, drippy butter on fresh sweet corn is a fantastic pairing, but a few years ago I started skipping the butter and just kept the flakey kosher salt and I never missed a thing.





But this year, I have a new tradition: Mexican corn. When I was in NYC earlier this summer, I ate a grilled cob covered in lime, salt, chili flakes and cheese at the Brooklyn Flea. It was love at first bite. So when I spotted some corn at a local market, I let my new instincts take over.


Traditional Mexican corn is called Elote and fresh corn is spread with mayonnaise and then sprinkled with cotija cheese. While I'm fine with mayo, I wanted to keep this corn light and bright, so I skipped that along with the butter and the results were super tasty. I couldn't find cotija cheese, so I used crumbled feta but grated Parmesan cheese also is mighty tasty too. Next time, I'll skip the cheese and take the more puritan route of the lime juice-chili-salt sprinkles, but that's just me.

Lime, corn, salt and chili totally screams of summer. Get your backyard grill going and grill the corn in their husks or just steam the cobs like I did and enjoy summer at its sweetest.


Mexican Corn
4 cobs of corn
1 lime, cut into quarters
1 teaspoon aleppo pepper (or cayenne or crushed chili flakes)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons crumbled cotija cheese, feta or grated parmesan (optional)

Shuck corn and place in a large pot and cover halfway with cold water. Once the water has boiled, the corn is ready. Briefly rinse under cold water until it cools down enough to handle.

Squeeze lime juice all over your corn cob and sprinkle with salt and aleppo pepper. I like to blend the salt and aleppo pepper together and put into a small bowl, so it's ready mixed and ready to sprinkle. Dribble some cheese over top and start chewing.

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Vancouverite, foodie, crafty, freelance designer, Jeannette Ordas from the popular food blog, Everybody Likes Sandwiches joins us every Wednesday enticing us with her hearty and simple recipes!

Jan Halvarson

13 comments:

Lindsay said...

I just made a version of this yesterday! Try wrapping each ear in foil and baking it at 400 for about 20 minutes.

Noodles and Waffles said...

Yum. This looks delicious...now I just need the corn in my garden to grown faster!

Unknown said...

Well no wonder you want to skip the cheese next time! There is a big difference between cotija and feta! I ate this all the time in Mexico and the mayo and cotija pairing is truely delicious in this dish. I would highly recommend you try it the original way =) But this still looks delicious

Lauren said...

Early summer/late spring means fresh sweet corn in Florida, and all the flea markets and festivals sell it roasted with zillions of hot sauces, cheeses, butter, mayo - everything. I can't get enough!

Jamie Bartlett said...

These are so good. I've had another version where you put mayonnaise, chili flakes, salt, and parmesan cheese. It is to die for and I don't really even like mayonnaise.

Joanne said...

This approach to corn on the cob is new for me. I have never had corn served this way, only with butter and salt. Who would have thought you could get this creative with corn on the cob!

Maia said...

Oh, YES! We'll be making this tonight! Thanks for the inspiration ;)

DASI GLAM said...

You know what? I have never eaten corn. Things made with corn flour yes, but never corn like this. Guess I'll just have to try it.

Veronica Alfaro said...

Hi! Fantastic photos! As a mexican who recently moved to Vancouver, I'll just say that purists eat their corn with either just lime, salt and chili, OR with the cheese and mayo. If you do not like mayo, you can substitute for sour cream. Either way is delicious! (just be sure to floss after...)

frk F said...

We tried this last night - scrumptious!! Thanks for the recipe!

leah said...

What a fun and yummy idea!! ^_^ Thanks for sharing!

Hello Katey said...

i usually hate mayo, but it's mandatory with this one.

Anonymous said...

So glad I'm from LA. It's not the same unless it comes out of a black trash bag being pushed around in a shopping cart. I love our corn ladies.