The salad has all the flavours of your favourite Mexican street corn – otherwise referred to as elotes – with some extra late summer vegetables to give it a bit more bite. Mexican street corn salad is a great side for any late summer meal.
Who doesn’t love the flavours of elotes? They were one of my favourite things about living in Mexico as a child. But they can be very messy to eat. And rather annoying to prepare for a number of people (they don’t sit well on a plate). And there’s no helpful system to stand them up like you get for cones in ice cream shops. 
As I was writing this it occurred to me that I was probably wrong and someone must have invented a rack to hold food on sticks to alleviate this problem. I mean, they came up with a microwave smores maker (apparently a plate is too problematic?) and elotes are a not-really-counter-culture obsession so there must be something. I went to look for it to prove that I was wrong about there not being an easy way to hold multiple elote sticks – but I was right! The closest I could find was this rack that was designed to hold multiple kebabs. Perhaps there was still hope for people not making everything ridiculous! Then I found a condiment gun. Why?!
But anyway, the best solution to the preparation problem is of course to take the corn off the cob and make it a salad. Besides, it sounds so much healthier when you call it a salad (we’ll just ignore that cheese and cream). I did add some other flavours I associate with late summer to give it a bit more bite, so my version is more of an actual salad. But it complements a vegetarian meal of spiced black beans and fried plantain perfectly! 
I suggest a slightly sour crema for this salad, but a standard crema fresca (table cream) works also, just add a bit more lime juice or it’s a tad heavy. You can also adjust the cayenne to taste as you would on a regular elote. It’s been discussed before, but I like just a hint of spice to my food. Call me a pansy, but I prefer to able to taste my food. You do you when it comes to spice.
Mexican Street Corn (Elote) Salad
Ingredients
- 2 c/90g broccoli florets
- 1 c/75g thinly sliced green bell pepper*
- 1 ¾ c/275g corn kernels 2 ears
- 1/3 c/70g thinly sliced red onion
- 1 tbs/15ml olive oil
- ¼ c/60ml crema
- ¼ c + 1 tbs/60g cotija cheese crumbled
- 1/8 – ¼ tsp cayenne
- Ground pepper to taste
- Lime juice to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil med high
- Cook broccoli for 30 seconds to lightly char in a couple places.
- Reduce to med and add corn. Cook further 2 minutes until there is some colour on the kernels and it is a bit soft. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
- Toss corn and broccoli with remaining ingredients, adding cayenne and ground pepper to taste. Squeeze lime juice over it just before serving.
Notes
Leave a Reply