Mexican-Style Street Corn and Orzo Salad

As soon as that first haul of fresh summer corn turns up in the grocery store I start dreaming of Mexican street corn. We discovered the joys of Mexican street corn, or elote, a few years ago and since then have never looked back. I can’t remember the last time we had grilled corn with just salt and butter. Elote is just so good and apparently the only way I eat corn now.

I suppose if you are one of those sad folks that just doesn’t like mayonnaise you may not like elote but in addition to a hefty amount of mayo the corn is also doused in lime, chili powder, cilantro, and cotija cheese. What’s not to love?

This summer however, the humidity has been high and our desire to grill has been low. I can think of a number of things I would rather be doing than standing by the grill when the temperature and humidity are battling it out to see who can get to 90 first. But I still want corn… And I want it slathered with that creamy, limey, salty sauce. Summer is such a generous season but when it is both hot and humid I struggle to remember any of its positive attributes. But recently, on one of those unbearably hot days, I figured out how to have my cake and eat it too.

In this apple-has-fallen-far-from-the-tree Mexican Street corn recipe I have nixed the grill and opted to cook/char the corn in a skillet. I also added zucchini because summer but also I have a thing for zucchini this year and kind of want it in everything. What’s nice about this recipe is that you can take the ingredients and prepare it in whatever way fits your cooking method of choice. If you’re already grilling, just cook the corn and zucchini on the grill. If you don’t mind the oven being on you can char the zucchini and corn under the broiler.

Now for toppings and sauce. I encourage you to be heavy handed with the lime, cilantro, and cheese. These are the flavors you want to linger so just go for it. If you have a hard time finding cotija cheese maybe try feta. It has a similar tangy, salty flavor and is a decent replacement on most Mexican dishes.

This Mexican style street corn and orzo salad is one of those magical dishes that sits right on the border between refreshingly summery and straight up comfort food. It is the perfect dish to bring to a BBQ (if there were BBQ’s for us to go to).

Yield: 4-6 servings

Author: Laura Gable

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Mexican-Style Street Corn and Orzo Salad

Prep time: 15 MCook time: 20 MTotal time: 35 M

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orzo
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 zucchini cut in quarters lengthwise then chopped 1/2-inch thick
• 4 ears or corn, kernels removed (about 3 cups)
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 2-3 limes plus the zest of 1
• 4 oz cotija or feta cheese
• ½ cup chopped cilantro or more

Instructions:

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and generously salt (make it taste like the ocean). Once it comes to a boil add the orzo and cook for 10 minutes. drain and rinse with cool water stop the cooking and cool it off a bit then place it into a medium bowl. 
2. Meanwhile warm a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil then cook the zucchini till it is soft and caramelized and on the way to being burnt, 10-12 minutes. remove the zucchini from the skillet and add it to the orzo. Add the corn to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until it has a nice char on it then add it to the bowl.
3. For the sauce, in a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, lime zest and juice (I like it extra limey so make sure you taste the sauce as you are adding the lime juice).
4. Add the sauce to the bowl with the corn and stir together. Serve with the cheese and cilantro decadently sprinkled on top. 

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