Description
Mexican Street Corn Dip (Esquites) made with fresh corn, jalapeños, cilantro, lime, and optional cotija cheese. Make it creamy; serve as a warm side dish or a dip with tortilla chips
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup red onions, diced
- 1-2 tablespoons jalapeno, finely diced
- 2-4 garlic cloves- roughly chopped
- 3 1/2- 4 cups corn kernels (16 ounces, frozen or 4 fresh ears of corn)
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (or sub-smoked paprika or chili powder for milder flavor) Note: 1/4 teaspoon is quite spicy.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt,
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3-4 tablespoons water or veggie stock
- 1 small lime- zest, and juice if needed.
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup scallions
- 1/4 cup Mayo or vegan mayo (see notes), more to taste.
- 1/4-1/2 cup cotija, crumbled (optional, sub-grated insalata ricotta, parmesan or pecorino)
Instructions
- Saute. Heat oil in an extra-large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until golden about 3 minutes, stirring often. Lower heat to medium-low, add garlic and jalapeño, and cook until fragrant, 4-5 minutes.
- Combine. Add fresh corn, spices, salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add a splash of water stir, cover and steam for 3-4 minutes.
- Season. Add the lime zest. Fold in 2/3rds of the cilantro and scallions. Stir in the mayo. Taste and adjust the salt and lime to taste (feel free to squeeze lime if needed; I find the zest to be enough).
- Serve in a bowl, sprinkle with remaining cilantro, scallions and optional cotija serve with tortilla chips. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Leftovers keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Creamy DIP: If you want it extra creamy, stir in a couple of tablespoons of sour cream/ and or butter. Butter is traditional. It’s ridiculously good with a bit of butter. Best eaten warm!
Grill! You can also grill fresh corn whole (shucked) directly on the grate, letting it a little charred in places. Let it cool, then slice the grilled kernels off the cob and add to the sautéed shallot-garlic-chili mixture in the skillet. Proceed with the recipe form there.
To make this vegan, use vegan mayo, vegan sour cream or vegan butter. 🙂
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 114
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 125.4 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.2 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 2.9 mg