Mexican Corn Salad

Mexican Corn Salad

I was recently invited to participate in a cooking demo with the dinner tonight healthy cooking school in partnership with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. The Dinner Tonight program was developed to provide busy families with quick, healthy, cost effective recipes that taste great. Not only does the Dinner Tonight program provide recipes, it also gives you weekly video demonstrations on cooking tips and techniques, nutrition topics, menu planning basics and information on healthy living. The goal for the Dinner Tonight program is to improve the health and wellness of Texans through nutrition education.

My demo featured two recipes from the Dinner tonight website. First up was grilled cilantro-lime shrimp, which I paired with a Mexican street corn salad. I recently shared with you a picture of the corn salad on instagram, but today I want to share the recipe with you.

“Elote” is Spanish for corn. In Mexico local street vendors sell fresh from the grill roasted elotes, which are smeared with a delicious layer of mayo, a hefty sprinkle of cotija cheese, fresh lime juice and chile. They are heavenly and the charring enhances the sweetness of the corn making them the perfect summer street to nibble on as you walk the streets of Mexico.

This recipe is a healthier version of the elotes sold in Mexico, but still just as heavenly. With a few minor tweaks this salad comes together in no time, is perfect as a side dish or as an appetizer (with tortillas chips and a few margaritas – amazing for girls’ night in). Instead of using mayo we are using yogurt as the base for our dressing and we are omitting the grilling altogether and sautéing the corn. A dash of green onions, fresh lime juice and a jalapeno rounds out this salad. Omit the jalapeno is you prefer no spice.

I served this Mexican corn salad recently at family dinner and am happy to report everyone loved it. The kiddos couldn’t get enough of it, score!

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Mexican Corn Salad

Author: Vianney Rodriguez

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups fresh or frozen thawed corn kernels
• 2 tablespoons plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 ounce cotija cheese crumbled
• ½ cup green onions finely sliced
• ½ cup cilantro leaves finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely minced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Chili powder

Instructions

1. In a large non stick pan heat oil over high heat until simmering.
2. Add corn kernels.
3. Stir once and cook without moving the corn until it is charred on one side, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir corn and repeat until charred on the second side, about 2 minutes.
5. Continue stirring and charring until well-charred all over, about 10 minutes.
6. Transfer corn to a large bowl.
7. Add Greek yogurt, cheese, green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and fresh lime juice.
8. Stir to combine.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning with chili powder.
10. Serve.