mexican street corn salad
mexican street corn salad
hi hello and welcome to another round of: It’s Another Sweltering Swampass Day and All I Want is to Taste Summer! so here we are, shucking corn, carefully seeding jalapeños, and drowning everything in lime. it’s a survival strategy and aside from eating directly out of the freezer, it’s a pretty delicious way to avoid further sweltering by boiling over a hot stove.
i’ve read about street vendors who serve buttery, spicy charred corn with fresh wedges of lime out of little cones and bags, and while that would be ridiculously cute, we’re serving ours up in a big bowl with a spoon so everyone can take as much as they need. like street food adjacent, but make it indoors and with a hint of AC.
we’re gathering a few fresh staples for this mexican street corn salad, and it would be the puhhhfect pairing for grilled salmon, a chicken taco situation, smoked ribs, or big buffet of summer salad options. truly welcome at any party but especially this one because i’ve been nibbling on it all week and don’t see myself tiring of it until october.
a few things before we get started:
- this is a super easy summer side dish that comes together in less than 20 minutes and is just as tasty served hot as it is at room temp. do what’s happening in the moment for you!
- i used fresh corn cobs and shucked the kernels, but you could grill your cobs or use frozen corn here, too - again, whatever is happening for you, go with that
- this dish is spiiiiiiicy. if you’re wanting to tone it down, omit the cayenne and be really thorough about removing the jalapeño seeds
- to keep this vegan or dairy-free, swap with vegan butter and skip the cheese
- extra extra EXTRA lime juice is never a bad call. here, or anywhere
mexican street corn salad
makes: 4 servings
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes
4 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 a red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, de-seeded and diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1c cilantro, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
juice and zest of two limes
1/2c cotija cheese, grated, optional
1tbsp butter
1tsp olive oil
2tsp cumin
2tsp chili powder
1tsp paprika
1/2tsp cayenne
1tsp salt
heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add the corn, onion, jalapeño, garlic, and dry spices. saute for 7-8 minutes until the onion softens. remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the remaining ingredients. serve with extra cotija cheese and lime wedges.