Recipe Series No. 3 - Warmed Street Corn

When you're in the upper midwest (or the Great Lakes states as I affectionately refer to them as), the most communal part of the culture is potlucks. I stumbled upon this recipe, which has become the top of the list for me to bring to a potluck, when I was eating at a restaurant in Minnesota that I'd never been to.

"Our frier is broken" said the waitress, who let us know the sides are very different than other restaurants. My choice that day was an elote corn dish. It was one of the best things I'd ever tasted, all I could remember was the way the warm corn tasted with the street spices, and the rich texture of the heavy oil in the dish.

When I went home I started experimenting to try and recreate the semblence of that dish I had at random. So truly this recipe below is my creation based purely on a memory and then trial and error until the it's become something unique to my desires.

Late summer should be experienced through the event of a fair, or a festival, or a night pop up - whatever it's called in your part of the world. Sweet corn is that dish that is nothing but pure summer, and I have to share my deep love for the rich tastes of my neighbors to the south. This dish I pair with carnitas tacos, or bring it to be mixed in with every other potluck meal displayed in the events collection. Or I just have it on its own to be that memory of stumbling into a restaurant.

Warmed Street Corn

Built on the bones of Mexican elote, warmed with spiced lime cream, and moved north.

Serves 2 to 4

Spiced lime cream

120g (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt

55g (1/4 cup) mayonnaise, japanese if you have it

60g (1/2 cup) cotija, finely crumbled, divided in two

Juice of 1 to 2 limes

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground chipotle

1/4 tsp salt

15g (1/4 cup) coriander (cilantro), finely chopped, plus more to finish

Corn

45ml (3 tbsp) avocado oil

225g (8 oz) frozen roasted corn

Instructions

• Stir the yogurt, mayo, half the cotija, and the lime juice together in a small bowl. Add the paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, chipotle, salt, and coriander (cilantro). Set aside.

• Warm the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the frozen corn and cook until thawed and hot, about 5-7 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it settle a minute.

• Fold in the sauce off the heat, use as much as you want. 

• Spoon into a serving bowl. Finish with the remaining cotija and a little more coriander (cilantro).

Notes

• No cotija: a dry, salty feta works, needs to be finely grated.

• You can cook and grill your own corn from the farmers market at peak season. After cooking use a knife to cut the corn kernals off the cob, then continue the recipe at folding in the sauce.  Frozen is the best option to make year round.

• For a fuller meal, cook 225g (8 oz) dried busiate or another short twisted pasta, drain, and fold it in with the corn and sauce. Serves 4 to 6.

• Good tinned tuna, drained, is worth adding either stirred through or alongside.