Esquites or Mexican Street Corn Salad
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 10 minutes cooling time
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 as a side dish
- 3 corn cobs or 1 lb (16 oz) corn kernels
- 2 oz butter or oil (about ¼ cup)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and diced
- 1 red chili, diced
- ½ cup chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ clove garlic, grated
- 3.5 oz cotija or halloumi cheese (about 1 cup, crumbled)
- 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves
- 2 limes, one halved and one quartered
- Salt and pepper
- A few drops hot sauce
- Smoked paprika to season
Step 1 - First, remove the kernels from the corn. Remove the husks and silks from the corn, brush well to ensure no remaining silks, and then stand the cob vertically, thicker side down, on a large plate, and remove the kernels with a sharp knife. You should end up with about 3 cups of kernels.
Step 2 - Heat a frying pan and add half of the butter or oil. Fry the corn, garlic, and chili, adding more oil if needed. Cook for 5-6 minutes.
Step 3 - While it is cooking, in a bowl make the garlic and lime crema. Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, and grated garlic together and squeeze in half the lime juice and stir. Allow the corn mixture to cool for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the crema and add the other half of the lime juice, grated cheese, cilantro, and season with salt and pepper and hot sauce (I sometimes add a pinch of sugar if the corn isn't sweet enough). Finish with smoked paprika and serve with quartered limes so that people can add more lime juice if they want.
I rushed this recipe up because when I put it on my Instagram stories, I got so many messages asking me when it would be going up. And in lieu of being able to travel overseas, I'm consoling myself with dishes like this. Right now, it feels like it will be such a long time until we can travel overseas again.
Last week we canceled all of our outings. After my close call with COVID and testing, it felt far too close to home. Dog play dates were canceled, and outings eating out and exchanging presents were switched to home visits and exchanging presents. I brought Teddy over to Laura's house, and he smelled his very first real pine Christmas tree.
We ordered in yum cha and milk tea and opened our presents. We had set each other a $100 limit for presents, and I had lots of fun buying her gift for her (a bright pink trio cheese knife set and some bubble tea goodies). I actually love buying presents for people about as much as receiving them. Laura handed her gift to me. It was a big bag emblazoned with "Givencheese" on it, a pun on Givenchy and my love of cheese. "This is you in a bag. It's 50% cheese, 50% lush glam designer!" she said. It was the PERFECT gift!
So tell me, Dear Reader, how are you dealing with the COVID restrictions? Are you in a city or country that has it under control? Are you allowed to travel or go out, or are you under lockdown? And what cool presents did you receive this Christmas?