I was trained early on that you only get corn on the cob when it’s fresh and in season. Roughly translated, you’d better eat a lot of it as it’s only in season about two months out of the year in Pennsylvania.

Two corn seasons ago, I posted a recipe for Grilled Mexican Street Corn. This is a take on that recipe but much less messy.

Here you remove the corn from the cob and sauté it with garlic to cook it. You could stop here as this tasted and smelled so good. After it has cooled, you mix it with other fresh ingredients and a simple yogurt-based dressing. Traditional Mexican street corn is slathered with either sour cream (ideally Mexican sour cream or crema which is milder and less thick than American sour cream) or mayonnaise. Here I use plain Greek yogurt which is more healthy (plus, I always have it on hand) as the base for the dressing. If you find this to be too thick add some additional lime juice.

Do try to find Cojita cheese. It’s a Mexican cheese made from cow’s milk. It comes in a wedge and it’s easy to crumble a thin slices. If you can’t find it, feta cheese is a good substitute.

Some tips to illustrate how versatile this recipe is:

  • This is a great dish to make for a crowd and you can even make it earlier in the day. I’d recommend preparing the salad and dressing separately a few hours in advance, removing it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving and dressing it at that time.
  • This salad would make a great dip, too. Serve it alongside some ‘scoop’ tortilla chips.
  • If you’re feeling really ambitious, try freezing fresh summer corn that you’ve removed from the cob. You can sauté it frozen (add a few minutes) and serve up a summer salad in the dead of winter.

Mexican Street Corn Salad

 

Mexican Street Corn Salad
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Recipe type: Salad
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Salad:
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 to 5 ears corn, husked removed and kernels removed (~ 2 cups)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 small red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • ½ cup cotija cheese, crumbled
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (~ 1 to 2 limes)
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Dressing:
  • ½ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (~ 1 limes)
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
Instructions
  1. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add corn and garlic and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Corn is done when it’s begun to char a bit.
  2. Transfer corn and garlic mixture to a bowl.
  3. Toss with red pepper, jalapeño pepper, red onion, cheese, lime juice and cilantro.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, lime juice, honey, paprika, ancho chili powder and cumin.
  5. Stir dressing into salad about 30 minutes before serving. Take care to not over-dress the salad – it’s okay to have some leftover.
Notes
* You can substitute feta for Cojita cheese.
* If the dressing is too thick, thin it with a bit more lime juice.
* You can prepare it a few hours in advance, removing it from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving and dressing it at that time.
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