Mexican corn salad (esquites)
Ingredients for 2 small portions (limited by how much corn you can char in one pan):
- 400g corn kernels (frozen or fresh)
- olive oil
- 10g garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 0.25 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 80g yoghurt
- 1 lime
- 0.25 teaspoon salt
- 10 twists of black pepper
- 1 green chilli (jalapeno or any other)
- 40g red onion
- pitas
Methods:
- Prep the corn kernels - chop them off their cobs or defrost and pat dry with a kitchen towel.
- Preheat a large pan on high heat with a bit of olive oil. Spread the corn in the pan into an even layer. Without stirring, char the corn kernels on very high heat.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing - zest a lime; in a large bowl mix yoghurt with the juice of a lime, lime zest, salt and black pepper.
- Dice the onion and the green chilli.
- Once the corn starts charring, into the pan add chilli powder and the garlic through a garlic press. Add a tiny splash of water to deglaze the pan, stir and give it a minute until the garlic smells really nice. Don’t give your corn too much time in the pan, or it will dry out.
- Add the corn into the dressing and mix well.
- Toast the pitas.
- Mix the onion and the green chilli into the corn. Optionally, if you happen to have some parsley or feta (or better cotija cheese), you can add them in.
- Serve with pitas.
Inspired by: Brian Lagerstrom