Mexican Street Corn "Esquites" Pasta

Esquites is a classic street food that you’ll find in many different parts of Mexico. Traditionally, corn is boiled until tender in a sort of broth. It’s strained and added to a handy dandy cup and then mayonnaise, cotija cheese , lime and chili are added to create this sweet and slightly acidic dish. It’s served conveniently in a cup with a fork or spoon so you can take it on the go as you go about your day. It’s perfect in everyway.

I had the privilege to travel to Mexico last month and finally got to try one of the foods I’ve only ever dreamed of. After returning to the states, you know I had to turn it into a pasta dish!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

  • Corn kernels from 3 whole cobs or about 1.5 cups of strained, canned corn

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter

  • 1 clove garlic, microplaned

  • Juice from 1/2 lime - about 1/2 tbsp

  • 1/2 cup cotija cheese

  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper

  • Tsp of chili powder of choice (aleppo or regular chili powder)

  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise (I used avocado mayo and it worked perfectly)

  • 3 tbsp chopped cilantro (or more if you’d like)

  • 8 oz fresh or dry pasta

*This amount is technically 4 servings but my partner and I ate this all up in one sitting 😅

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Bring a medium sized salted pot of water up to a boil. As you’re waiting for the water to boil, melt butter in a saucepan. Add the corn and cook for 3-5 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Turn the heat down to low and add the pasta to your boiling water when it is ready. Stir your pasta to keep it from sticking together. As the pasta is cooking, take a 1/2 cup of pasta water and add it to the corn. The starchiness from the corn and the pasta, binding with the fat from the butter is going to create a sort of creamy sauce. Bring the heat up slightly so that the saucepan with the corn comes up to a simmer. Add the mayonnaise, stir and let the mayo melt into the sauce. Add the pinch of cayenne to the saucepan and check on your pasta. If it’s ready, strain the pasta while saving 1/4 cup of pasta water for later. Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan, along with the lime and 2 tbsp of the chopped cilantro. Mix it all together and bring it up to a simmer just to bring all of the ingredients together. Turn off the heat and then gradually stir in the cotija cheese. It should slowly melt into the pasta. If you’d like it to be more creamy, add another tbsp of the mayo. If you’d like the sauce to be a little looser, add some of that pasta water that you saved. Plate up the pasta between 2 or 4 dishes. Garnish with more cotija, more cilantro and a little pinch of chili powder. Serve with a slice of lime.

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