Elote (Grilled Corn)

Ingredients

• 4 corn cobs, husks removed
• 6 tbsp mayonnaise
• 4 tbsp soured cream
• 100 g queso fresco or feta, finely crumbled
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• 2 limes
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• a handful of coriander, chopped

Method

1. Grill dry, not boiled

   Put the cobs straight onto a hot grill or griddle with no oil and no pre-boiling. Boiled first they go watery; grilled from raw the sugars caramelise and some kernels blacken, which is the entire point.

2. Turn until properly charred

   Turn every couple of minutes for about 12 minutes until charred in patches all round and the kernels have gone deep yellow and slightly wrinkled.

   12 min

3. Make the crema

   Mix the mayonnaise, soured cream and grated garlic. Mayonnaise alone is too heavy and soured cream alone slides off — together they cling to hot corn without turning greasy.

4. Coat while blazing hot

   Brush the crema over the hot cobs, then roll them in the crumbled cheese so it sticks, and finish with chilli powder, lime juice and coriander. Do this the moment they come off the heat — cool corn will not hold the coating.

5. Serve with more lime

   Eat immediately, with extra lime. If corn on the cob is awkward, cut the kernels off and stir everything together as esquites in a cup.