This recipe is from Good and Cheap.
Good and Cheap is a gorgeous cookbook for people with limited income, particularly on a $4/day food stamps budget. The PDF is free (ahora en Español!) and has been downloaded more than 15,000,000 times. I have more cookbooks, too!
Elotes (or Mexican street corn) is crazy delicious. Turns out that you actually CAN make fresh corn even better. Sweet, spicy, salty, cheesy even tart. All your taste bases are covered.
This beautiful recipe from the streets and homes of Mexico has been one of the most popular recipes in Good and Cheap.
So far, not one, but three people have told me they were overcome with tears of joy when they tasted this. It’s that good. What are you waiting for?
Mexican Street Corn
Roasted corn with mayo, cheese, chile and lime.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 4 cobs corn
- 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup cotija, queso blanco, feta, Parmesan or Romano grated
- chile powder to taste
- 1 lime sliced into 4 wedges
Instructions
- Turn your oven's broiler up to high.
- Peel off the outer layers of the corn and clean off all the corn silk. Leave the green ends attached for a convenient handhold.
- Place the cobs on a baking pan under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, then rotate them and repeat until they're brown and toasty all the way around. The broiling shouldn't take more than 10 minutes total.
- Working quickly, spread a tablespoon of mayonnaise over each cob, lightly coating every kernel. Next, sprinkle the cheese all over the corn. It should stick fairly easily to the mayonnaise, but you'll probably get a little messy coating them thoroughly.
- Sprinkle chile powder over the corn, but not too heavy or it'll be gritty. Use any chile powder you like; ancho or cayenne are great.
- Lastly, squeeze lime juice all over and serve hot!