Elote is that incredible food known also as Mexican Street Corn. Usually it is grilled, slathered with mayo & a powdered dry cheese, then sprinkled with spices and perhaps a squeeze of lime.
Since May’s Improv Challenge ingredients were cilantro & lime, I figured I’d try my hand with an elote version that wouldn’t need quite so many napkins!
First, I made the “sauce” to toss on the popped corn. I found these little cubes of goodness at the Mexican market. (I use them quite often when I’m cooking black beans or making my White Chili…)Tossed one of each into the 1/4 cup lime juice to soften
then added 1/2 cup melted butter.
I popped the corn in bacon grease. Yes, leftover bacon grease. I used 1 & 1/2 cups popping corn (popped in 3 batches). I dumped the hot kernels into a large lidded bowl & poured the butter/lime mixture over and shook well. Then I dumped the slightly wet corn into a pan, spread it out and stuck in a 300° oven for about 10 minutes to dry out. (Oh the smells that went wafting out the windows into my neighborhood!)
In the meantime I mixed 3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon lime zest & 1 teaspoon dried cilantro. When the hot corn came out of the oven, this was generously sprinkled over…If you can spare any, package it in a bucket to give away.
Unfortunately, mine is all gone…
And here’s what my friends created with their cilantro & lime “ingrediaments”: