Mexican Street Corn Salad (Esquites)

Summer party season is in full swing, and I’m excited to share another installment in my experiments in easy and delicious summer potluck sides. Inspired by a Serious Eats recipe, this dish is a twist on Mexican street corn. You're probably familiar with this grilled, lime-spritzed, and spiced corn on the cob, but have you heard of esquites? It's essentially the same idea but the corn is removed from the cob and served as a salad. This makes it super convenient to prepare ahead of time and bring to any gathering.

For this recipe, I took a shortcut by using frozen corn kernels for convenience. You can make it even simpler by skipping the charring step or buying frozen grilled corn kernels and just thawing them. It’s really a choose your own adventure in terms of effort.

The end result? A super flavorful, tangy, and fresh salad thanks to lime, herbs, jalapeno,  with an undercurrent of creamy sweetness from the corn, and cotija cheese. This dish is definitely going into my party rotation!

Mexican street corn salad (Esquites) 
1 T vegetable oil
about 5 1/2 cups corn, fresh or frozen and thawed, 1.5 lbs
2/3 cup finely sliced scallions, green parts only
2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1-2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and stemmed, finely chopped, depending on how spicy you like it
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced on a microplane grater
3 T mayonnaise
zest and juice of 1-2 limes
1/2 t chili powder or chipotle powder

~4 ounces Cotija cheese, crumbled

kosher salt to taste

(Optional corn charring step): In a large cast iron pan or skillet, heat oil over high heat, then add corn. Toss once or twice, and cook without moving until charred on one side, about 2 minutes. Toss and repeat until charred on the second side, about 2 more minutes. The goal here is to have a little bit of char on each kernel, but not fully cook them (good corn shouldn't be overly cooked or mushy). 

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more chili powder to taste. Can be served immediately or chilled.