Esquites and Elote (Mexican Street Corn)
Charred corn two ways, on the cob and in cups, with a creamy lime sauce, cotija cheese and chile powder.
Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.
Elote and esquites are the two faces of Mexican street corn. Elote is the whole cob on a stick, slathered in a creamy sauce and rolled in cheese and chile. Esquites are the same flavors in a cup: warm kernels with butter, a spoonful of sauce, crumbled cotija, chile powder and lime. Vendors sell them on plazas all over Mexico, and they are a hit at any cookout.
The Thermomix® TM7™ crumbles the cotija and mixes the creamy sauce, then steams all the corn in the Varoma so it is tender and sweet. A hot cast-iron skillet or grill pan on the stove adds the charred spots. Serve some on sticks and cut the kernels off the rest for esquites, so everyone can have their favorite.
Made in the Thermomix® TM7™
Esquites and Elote (Mexican Street Corn)
Makes: 6 elote halves and about 6 small cups of esquites
- Prep15 min
- Cook35 min
- Total50 min
- Serves6
Ingredients
For the sauce and cheese
For the corn
To serve
Instructions
- Place the cotija in the dry mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 5. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Place the garlic in the mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 7. Add the mayonnaise, crema, lime juice and salt and mix 10 sec/speed 3. Transfer to a bowl and rinse the mixing bowl.
- Place the water in the mixing bowl. Arrange the corn halves in the Varoma dish and on the Varoma tray, set the Varoma in position and steam 20 min/Varoma/speed 1, until the kernels are tender.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan on the stove over high heat. Brush the corn with the oil and cook, turning, for 8 to 10 minutes, until charred in spots. You can also char it on an outdoor grill.
- For the elotes, push a skewer into the end of 6 corn halves, brush them with sauce, sprinkle with cotija and chile powder and serve with lime.
- For the esquites, stand the remaining corn halves in a wide bowl and cut off the kernels. Melt the butter in the same skillet, add the kernels, serrano and a pinch of salt and cook for 2 minutes.
- Spoon the esquites into cups and top with sauce, cotija, chile powder and a lime wedge.
Tips
- Out of season, use 900 g (2 lb) frozen corn kernels for the esquites: thaw them, pat them dry and char them in the hot skillet with a little oil for 6 to 8 minutes, then add the butter.
- No cotija? Use feta or finely grated Parmesan. Both are salty and crumbly like cotija.
- In Mexico, esquites are often cooked with epazote. If you find it, add a few chopped leaves with the butter.
- The sauce keeps 3 days in the fridge and is great on tacos and grilled fish.
