Elote Salad

I’ve officially turned into one of those women who looooves going to Target. I honestly used to despise going there (it felt too errand-y), but two days ago I went for a very short list of things and then went INSANE! I had to use every ounce of self-control in my body not to spend like $500 on random shiz that I totally felt like I needed/wanted/needed. Throw back Lisa Frank folders were speaking to me. And I mean…the cosmetic section? Wha! Amazing, hello! Their Nate Berkus home stuff? Like, really really cute. And their bathing suits? Not too shabs at all.

Their summer stuff section made me so excited about 4th of July. I may have bought cute s’more skewers, two jumbo bags of marshmallows and a few boxes of graham crackers. Also am pretty stoked on the fact that I have this donut floaty in my possession right this very second. P.S. I should’ve bought a basketball pump because my cheeks hurt from trying to fill this dang thing with air.

I’m Palm Springs bound – it’s estimated to be a cool 115 degrees F today. Wish me luck! I feel like Palm Springs in the summer is like Arizona or Florida in the summer – kinda miserable and only tolerable if you’re just living in your bathing suit, sitting in the shade and/or air conditioning, doing absolutely nothing. I plan on doing just that. Cocktail, maybe a book, maybe watching The Sandlot (the 4th always makes me think of that movie), maybe some bbq-ing-watching…and this salad.

My favorite bbq food is stuff I can make a few hours ahead and then do absolutely nothing. I let other’s “man” the grill. I ain’t got time fo’ dat.

I looooove eloté also known as Mexican street corn. Traditionally eloté is cooked on a grill, charring the corn, and then topped with mayonnaise (enter: sad face), ancho chile powder, a few squeezes of lime and some more cheese.

I don’t mean to turn a simple dish into an annoying one but I sort of don’t like the mayonnaise part. It never does it for me. Instead I love a good créme fraîche‎. It’s tart, rich, creamy…just awesome.

For this salad I made a fun little dressing which included creme fraiche, lime juice, ancho chile powder, some salt and some cayenne, for a kick.

Some red onion, sliced serranos and cilantro give it a nice touch, too.

Oh and I love this trick! I’m not sure if you’re familiar. So, you know when you go to slice the corn off the cob and corn flies everywhere, all over your kitchen? I’m not sure where I picked this up from, but here’s a solution: flip a smaller bowl upside down and set it inside a bigger bowl. Steady the corn on top of the smaller bowl and slice the corn off the cob. All of the corn will fall into the bigger bowl rather than spewing all over your kitchen. Whenever I do this I feel so clever.

What are you doing for the fourth? What are you cooking? What are you drinking? Please spill.

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Print Recipe

Elote Salad

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Ingredients

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup créme fraîche
• 1 lime
• 1/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Salt

Salad:

• 5 ears of corn
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 2 serrano peppers optional, thinly sliced
• Salt
• Handful of cilantro
• 2 tablespoons crumbled queso fresco
• 1/4 teaspoon ancho chile pepper

Instructions

• In a small bowl, mix together the créme fraîche, juice from the lime, ancho chile pepper, cayenne pepper and a few pinches of salt. Give it a taste test and adjust flavors according to your liking. Set aside. Note: I personally am obsessed with heat, so I added a few more pinches of cayenne.
• Using your grill, char the corn on all sides, rotating every so often to ensure even charring. Alternatively, you could set the corn on the grates of your gas stove with the flame set to medium-high heat, rotating them every minute or so until charred on all sides.
• Cut the corn off the cobs and transfer them to a bowl. (Or if you used my method pictured, you can simply take out the small bowl and voila! done!) Add the red onion, serrano peppers and a pinch of salt. Add the dressing and toss lightly, being sure the corn is evenly coated. Give it a taste test and add a bit more salt, cayenne pepper or ancho chile pepper, if you like. Garnish with a small handful of cilantro, queso fresco and a few dash of ancho chile pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 1 day.

Nutrition

Serving: 4g

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