Mexican corn salad
On Friday night, I threw a Mexican themed birthday party for Ellie. Although there are many more pictures to come in a later post, I thought I'd kick off the week with one of my favorite recipes from the night. It sort of doubles as a salad and a salsa—it's as good eaten with a spoon as it is on chips. But really what's not good on a chip doe?
It's my take on Mexican street corn salad, something you can find recipes for all over, which is a spin on those delicious ears of street corn that if you haven't tried, you're sorely, sorely missing out. This is an easy, make-ahead way to deliver the same incredible, crowd-pleasing flavors.
Mexican corn salad
Yields about 4 servings
1½ T oil
1 T butter
16 oz frozen sweet corn, defrosted (or fresh corn off the cob)
½ cup diced red onion
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 T mayonnaise
1 T lime juice
½ tsp paprika
A couple pinches of cayenne pepper, to taste (adjust for more heat)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup or so Cotija cheese, plus a little extra for sprinkling on top
Heat oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add corn, onion, and jalapeño, and cook for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until corn is golden and toasted in parts. Throw garlic in for last minute of cooking. Remove from heat and put corn in a medium sized bowl. Toss with mayonnaise, lime juice, paprika, and cayenne, and fold in cilantro and Cotija. Serve warm or room temperature with an extra sprinkling of Cotija and some more freshly cracked black pepper. If making ahead, store in fridge until about an hour before serving, and reserve the extra sprinkling of Cotija until just before serving.