Street corn salad (esquites)
All the flavor of elote off the cob: frozen corn charred in a hot skillet and tossed with lime, mayo, cotija and chili, good warm or cold.
- 35 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 8
- About $0.98 a serving
- 240 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 8 servings.
- 2 lb frozen corn
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 green onions
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 jalapeño (optional)
- ¾ cup cotija cheese, crumbled
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
Each serving has about 240 calories, 6 g protein, 27 g carbs and 14 g fat, and costs about $0.98 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 green onions? Chives work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Thaw the corn in a colander under cold running water for 2 to 3 minutes, then spread it on a clean towel and it dry.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Dolly’s tip: Dry corn chars. Wet corn just steams in the pan.Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large over medium-high heat until it , then add half the corn in one layer.
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.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium-high heat
Cook 6 to 8 minutes, only every 2 minutes, until lots of kernels have dark spots, then tip it into a large bowl.
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.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Leave it alone between stirs. Sitting on the hot pan is what makes the charred spots.Repeat with the rest of the oil and corn, then sprinkle all the corn with the salt.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
While the corn cools a few minutes, the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, chili powder and garlic in a small bowl.
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.
the green onions, the cilantro, and the jalapeño if you’re using it.
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.
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.
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.
Add the dressing, cotija, green onions, cilantro and jalapeño to the corn and well.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Taste for salt and lime and serve warm or cold. To make ahead, chill up to a day and before serving.
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.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
