Mexican-ish Grilled Corn with Sriracha, Lime & Honey Mayo

Monday, August 18, 2014

Mexicanish sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you already know about my love for grilled corn. It's hard not to love something that is that good and that easy. But if my usual grilled corn goes to ten, this one goes to eleven...

This is a riff on elote, the traditional Mexican street corn. Elote is sweet corn that is grilled in the husk, then the husk is peeled back to serve as a kind of handle and the corn is slathered in a creamy, chili-lime sauce and rolled in salty cheese. (By the way, Kenji over at Serious Eats has a great recipe for elote if you want to try it.)

Sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But elote is kind of a lot of work, in my (lazy-assed) opinion. So I was mighty intrigued when my aunt Katy came up with this wonderful variation that has a lot of the same great flavors but happens to be a lot less labor-intensive than true elote.

You start with however many ears of sweet corn you want - the freshest you can get. And it's the time of year when you can get it really fresh from a farmer near you so there's no reason not to.

Bi-color sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Husk the ears and rub them with olive oil and toss them on the grill for a few minutes, turning regularly to get an even, light char on all sides.

Grilled sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Then it's time to make yer sauce. Get out the mayonnaise, sriracha, lime and honey.

Ingredients for sriracha, lime, honey mayonnaise sauce by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Zest that lime. Then juice it. In that order. I had a brain fart and forgot to zest it before I cut it in half and started juicing it - definitely harder to get that skin off at that point.  :(

Cutting the lime by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Mix in the mayo, sriracha, and honey and a pinch of salt and stir until smooth. Then slather it all over the corn. Don't be shy.

Slathering on the sriracha lime honey mayo by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Then sprinkle cheese all over it!

Sprinkling the corn ears with cheese by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Take a bite. The creamy mayo, zesty lime, sweet honey, spicy sriracha and salty cheese take the sweet, slightly nutty, lightly charred, juicy corn kernels to a whole new level.

Mexicanish sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

If you have any sriracha lime honey mayo sauce leftover, it's great with shrimp or chicken if you wanted to make a salad or use it as a dipping sauce.

-- print recipe --Mexican-ish Grilled Corn with Sriracha, Lime, Honey Mayonnaise
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 4 ears of sweet corn, husked
* 2 tsps olive oil
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* A generous squirt of sriracha - probably around 1 tsp but taste the sauce and add more if you like things spicier
* Zest & juice of one organic lime
* 1 tsp honey
* Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup grated cotija cheese (though you can also use grated Parmesan or Romano if you can't find cotija)

Directions

1. Preheat and clean your grill. You want a medium heat. While it's heating, rub the ears of corn with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Place the ears on the grill and cook, turning with tongs every 2 minutes or so, to ensure even cooking on all sides, until lightly browned. Remove from the grill and mix up your sauce by combining the mayo, sriracha, honey, lime juice and zest and salt and pepper. Take a taste and adjust, as needed, until you're happy with the flavors.

3. Slather the corn with the sriracha mayonnaise then sprinkle it all over with the grated cheese before serving.

You might also like:
For more tasty, seasonal recipes, foraging ideas, gardening tips, restaurant reviews, and food-related inspiration, "like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest.

No comments:

Monday, August 18, 2014

Mexican-ish Grilled Corn with Sriracha, Lime & Honey Mayo

Mexicanish sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you already know about my love for grilled corn. It's hard not to love something that is that good and that easy. But if my usual grilled corn goes to ten, this one goes to eleven...

This is a riff on elote, the traditional Mexican street corn. Elote is sweet corn that is grilled in the husk, then the husk is peeled back to serve as a kind of handle and the corn is slathered in a creamy, chili-lime sauce and rolled in salty cheese. (By the way, Kenji over at Serious Eats has a great recipe for elote if you want to try it.)

Sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

But elote is kind of a lot of work, in my (lazy-assed) opinion. So I was mighty intrigued when my aunt Katy came up with this wonderful variation that has a lot of the same great flavors but happens to be a lot less labor-intensive than true elote.

You start with however many ears of sweet corn you want - the freshest you can get. And it's the time of year when you can get it really fresh from a farmer near you so there's no reason not to.

Bi-color sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Husk the ears and rub them with olive oil and toss them on the grill for a few minutes, turning regularly to get an even, light char on all sides.

Grilled sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Then it's time to make yer sauce. Get out the mayonnaise, sriracha, lime and honey.

Ingredients for sriracha, lime, honey mayonnaise sauce by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Zest that lime. Then juice it. In that order. I had a brain fart and forgot to zest it before I cut it in half and started juicing it - definitely harder to get that skin off at that point.  :(

Cutting the lime by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Mix in the mayo, sriracha, and honey and a pinch of salt and stir until smooth. Then slather it all over the corn. Don't be shy.

Slathering on the sriracha lime honey mayo by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Then sprinkle cheese all over it!

Sprinkling the corn ears with cheese by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

Take a bite. The creamy mayo, zesty lime, sweet honey, spicy sriracha and salty cheese take the sweet, slightly nutty, lightly charred, juicy corn kernels to a whole new level.

Mexicanish sweet corn by Eve Fox, The Garden of Eating, copyright 2014

If you have any sriracha lime honey mayo sauce leftover, it's great with shrimp or chicken if you wanted to make a salad or use it as a dipping sauce.

-- print recipe --Mexican-ish Grilled Corn with Sriracha, Lime, Honey Mayonnaise
Serves 4

Ingredients

* 4 ears of sweet corn, husked
* 2 tsps olive oil
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* A generous squirt of sriracha - probably around 1 tsp but taste the sauce and add more if you like things spicier
* Zest & juice of one organic lime
* 1 tsp honey
* Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup grated cotija cheese (though you can also use grated Parmesan or Romano if you can't find cotija)

Directions

1. Preheat and clean your grill. You want a medium heat. While it's heating, rub the ears of corn with olive oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Place the ears on the grill and cook, turning with tongs every 2 minutes or so, to ensure even cooking on all sides, until lightly browned. Remove from the grill and mix up your sauce by combining the mayo, sriracha, honey, lime juice and zest and salt and pepper. Take a taste and adjust, as needed, until you're happy with the flavors.

3. Slather the corn with the sriracha mayonnaise then sprinkle it all over with the grated cheese before serving.

You might also like:
For more tasty, seasonal recipes, foraging ideas, gardening tips, restaurant reviews, and food-related inspiration, "like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest.

No comments: