Southwestern Smoky Elote Salad

Summer is almost here! It speaks to the festivity of backyard barbecues, spending time with friends around a sunny picnic table, and, of course, eating from the delicious, fresh, summer harvest. Summer is corn season, and elote is the way to celebrate it.

Raise your hand if you love Mexican street corn. Hint: every hand in the room should be up right now. What’s not to love? The corn is sweet and crunchy, the spice is zesty and warm, the sauce is creamy and rich. It’s a perfect food that elicits echos of bright, sunny days; warm, breezy nights; and life well-lived. But while the taste is nothing short of side-dish nirvana, it is indeed a messy food. So, I’ve deconstructed this street food classic and put its gloriously simple pieces back together into the best elote salad you could dream up.

Traditional Mexican elote is made by boiling fresh corn on the cob in seasoned water, then slathering it with such toppings as creamy mayonnaise, briny cojita cheese crumbles, salt, chile powder, and lime. But if you make your way north of the border into the American Southwest, you’ll find your corn grilled to a delightfully smoky char.

I like to play with different cooking styles when I make this salad, depending on the freshness and seasonality of my ingredients. When I find really juicy fresh corn, it can be so wonderful to shuck the raw kernels off the cob and use them as they are. But I also love the depth of flavor that fire roasting or pan roasting the corn can have on the dish. The smokiness plays so nicely with the sweetness of the corn and brings on another dimension of richness to the flavor that wouldn’t otherwise be there. And if you’re using frozen corn, which I often do, it also helps to burn off some of the excess water that comes with thawing. Any way you choose to do it, though, you come out on top with winning summer hit!

So, with no further ado, I present to you the wonder of Street Corn Salad! Forks not included.

Vegan Smoky Mexican Street Corn Salad

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh or frozen sweet corn (white corn is my personal favorite)
• 1/2 cup vegan mayo
• 1/2 cup red onion, small dice
• 1/2 cup vegan feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2-1 jalapeño, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil on high until shimmering. Add corn. Heat corn until it browns, about 10 minutes. The charred bits contribute to the smoky, fire roasted flavor. Put corn in mixing bowl and set to cool in refrigerator (or freezer for quicker cooling).
2. When corn feels cool to the touch, mix in the mayo, red onion, feta cheese, jalapeño, chili powder, smoked paprika, lime juice, and cilantro. Add salt to taste. Mix well, and enjoy!