Mexican street corn pasta salad
Charred corn, salty cotija, lime, chili powder and cilantro in a creamy dressing tossed with pasta, all the flavor of elote in a lunch you can make ahead.
- 30 min total
- 18 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.46 a serving
- 550 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount and pack the rest for the next few days.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 cups frozen corn
- 8 oz rotini
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 limes, juiced
- ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cotija cheese, crumbled
- 1 jalapeño, finely chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Each serving has about 550 calories, 15 g protein, 69 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $1.46 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring a large pot of water over high heat and add the salt.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
While it heats, warm the oil in a large over medium-high heat, add the corn, and leave it alone for 4 minutes so it .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min
and cook 4 to 5 minutes more, until hot with plenty of brown spots, then tip it onto a plate to cool.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium-high heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Don’t stir too much. Corn needs to sit against the hot pan to get those toasty spots.Add the rotini to the boiling water and cook as the package says, until tender with a little bite.
High heatTimer: 9 min
, under cold water until cool, and shake off the water.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder in a large bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
the cilantro, the green onions, and the jalapeño if you’re using it.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
the pasta, corn, cotija, cilantro, green onions and jalapeño, then divide among 4 containers.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Dolly’s tip: It keeps 4 days in the fridge. Finish it with a sprinkle of chili powder and a squeeze of lime at lunch.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop plans your lunches along with the week’s dinners, puts what you need on the same grocery list, and walks you through each step.
