Food carts are a huge culinary staple in Latin American countries. When I was a kid living in Ecuador my mom and I would frequent the vendor down the street from my grandmother’s house selling chuzos (steak skewers), grilled corn, and grilled sweet plantains stuffed with criollo cheese.
One of Mexico’s classic street food dishes is elote (eh-loh-teh), grilled corn on the cob traditionally seasoned with spices and served with cotija cheese and a spicy mayo or, the way I prefer it, with crema, the Latin American version of sour cream.
Since grilled corn is also commonly found at most American summer cookouts, Mexican street corn is a great way to add a little Latin flair to your summer dishes.
Mexican Street Corn
Ingredients:
4 ears of sweet yellow corn (you can buy it canned but make sure to buy whole kernel corn)
1 jalapeno, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ red onion, diced small
¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
¼ lb pancetta (you can sub thick-cut, uncured bacon if you can’t find pancetta)
Crema (can be found at most Latin grocery stores or can be substituted for sour cream or, preferably, creme fraiche)
Cotija cheese, crumbled
Chili powder
Lime juice
Instructions:
Cut pancetta into pieces that are 1 inch by ½ inch by ½ inch (these are called lardons)
If using fresh corn, Shell the cobs of corn by running your knife down the sides of the ear of corn to separate the kernels from the cob
Over low-medium heat, render out the fat of the lardons and cook until nice, golden brown, and crispy
Set pancetta aside on a paper towel to absorb any excess grease. Keep some of the fat that has rendered out in the pan
Throw in your corn and jalapenos and cook in the fat while continuously moving (if you are using canned corn you will not really need to cook the corn for any amount of time, just let the corn kind of gain that essence from the pancetta fat).
Throw in your diced red onion. You’re not trying to fully cook the red onion as you still want a little bit of that bite and crunch to it.
Add the halved cherry tomatoes and continue to toss in the pan for another minute. Lower the heat and add about ¼ cup of crema and sprinkle in a few dashes of chili powder.
Turn off the heat and stir in your fresh chopped cilantro, ¼ cup of the grated cotija cheese, a splash of lime juice and combine all.
Roast Chicken
Ingredients:
Chicken breast
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt and pepper
Chili powder
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 500ºF
Place a stainless steel pan on medium-high heat and add two tablespoons of vegetable oil
Season chicken with salt and pepper
Place breast in pan and cook one side until golden brown.
Flip over breast and place pan directly into oven for 12-15 minutes.
