Elotes (Mexican Corn on the Cob)

As a girl who grew up in Nebraska, I make it a point not to eat corn from anywhere else.  Once you’ve tasted those brilliant kernels of white and yellow perfection, every other corn just tastes bland in comparison and not worth the trouble of getting it stuck between your teeth.  Yet sometimes, we are forced to make exceptions to our rules, as is the case when you live in Mexico and walk by street vendors who slather steaming ears of corn with mayo, cheese, lime, and chili and then serve it on a stick or scrapped into a cup all jumbled together.  How could you pass that up?  In Nebraska, I might have thought it sacrilege to eat corn slathered in anything but a little butter and salt and pepper, but here I figured it could only make it better, and boy howdy does it ever.  The flavor is love at first bite (except when you are eating it for a second time from a strange, drunk man in a Cantina - see Anders' blog post on January 10 for the full story).

Notice how cold it is in Mexico!  We are both wearing two coats and a scarf.

 Elotes (Mexican corn on the cob)

Adapted from Homesick Texan

There are many ways to enjoy this treat: grilled, roasted, steamed, or broiled.  You could even go the easy route and roast frozen corn.  Experiment and see what works best for you.

Serves 4

4 ears of corn (or 2-3 cups frozen corn)
4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
4 lime wedges
1/2 cup of cotija cheese, crumbled (or if you prefer, Parmesean cheese)
Cayenne to taste

2 tablespoons of butter (optional: most elote that we have eaten in Mexico does not use butter, but if you prefer a creamier taste adding butter is a good option)

In an oven heated to 350 degrees, cook the corn in husk, with silk removed (no need to soak corn) for 25 minutes.

After taking corn out of the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes, and then pull husk layers down, leaving them attached to the base of the cob, which can act as a handle.  If you want to blacken your corn, you can either put it under the broiler for five minutes on each side or hold it over your stove’s gas burner. Be careful to keep the husk away from the flames!

While warm, spread 1/2 tablespoon of butter (optional) and 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise all over the cob.  Next take about an 1/8 cup of cheese, and sprinkle it on cob, then sprinkle on some cayenne pepper and squeeze the lime over the cob (the lime is the key to making this recipe pop!).

Note: Instead of using the husks as a handle, you can stick a wooden skewer into the base or scrape the corn off the cob and serve it in a bowl or cup.