Mexican Corn Salad

Memorial Day weekend. The eighteenth Saturday visit. Cody is on day one hundred and forty-two of his sentence. He has been writing in the cell at night by the hall light that bleeds in under the cell door, the way I have written about before. His first chapbook piece is almost done. He is going to submit on June first. The chapbook will be edited by Mrs. Davis and the other volunteers in June and July, and printed in late August. The chapbook will be Cody’s first published writing.

The Hendersons three doors down had their annual Memorial Day cookout on the front lawn again, the same one they had last year, the one with the cousins from McAlester. Mrs. Henderson had invited us — properly this time, with a phone call to Mama on Wednesday — and Mama had thanked her, and politely declined, the way Mama has continued to decline most large social events. Mrs. Henderson was kind about it. She said, Shelly, you do what you need to do. Send Kaylee with a plate of whatever she made, that is enough. So Mama and I had our own Memorial Day on our back porch, and I sent a plate of the Mexican corn salad up the street to the Hendersons’ party.

The recipe was a Couple Cooks Mexican Corn Salad — the magazine version of elote. Corn off the cob, queso fresco, lime juice, mayo, chili powder, cilantro, jalapeño, all tossed together cold. The trick I want you to keep is the charring of the corn. You grill the corn on the cob over high heat on the Weber grill (which we have because Aunt Tammy gave it to us last summer) for ten minutes, turning every two minutes, until the kernels are blackened in spots and the corn smells smoky. You let the cobs cool. You stand them up in a bowl and cut the kernels off with a knife.

The kernels in the bowl get tossed with three tablespoons of mayo, the juice of two limes, a half cup of crumbled queso fresco from the small package at Walmart ($1.99 for the whole package, the kind of cheese I had not bought before but that I have decided is going to live in our fridge from now on), a half teaspoon of chili powder, a tablespoon of fine-chopped jalapeño, and a quarter cup of fresh cilantro chopped. Salt to taste. Total cost: $5.40 for a big bowl that fed Mama and me Sunday and Monday and Tuesday with sides.

I sent half the bowl up the street to the Hendersons. Mrs. Henderson’s grandson Eli, who is now seven, came by an hour later with the empty bowl, washed and dried, and a small thank-you card his grandma had had him write that said in his careful seven-year-old handwriting, thank you Miss Kaylee the corn was good. I am keeping the card. I am writing it down because the world has decided to start sending me things back.

Mama and I had grilled hot dogs and the corn salad and a few cans of generic strawberry sparkling water on the back porch at six. The honeysuckle on the fence has come back this spring. The basil plant is now too big for the windowsill and is on the small table next to the back door. The Hendersons’ party was loud at the front of the street; we were quiet at the back of the house. Mama said, baby, this is the Memorial Day I needed, the same sentence she had said last year, in the same chair on the same porch. I am going to mark that. The repetition is the becoming-of-a-tradition.

The recipe is below. The trick is the charring of the corn on a hot grill — do not skip the smoky black spots. Cut the kernels off with a sharp knife after the cobs cool. Use queso fresco, not feta or shredded cheese; the crumbly fresh cheese is the right cheese.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 cups corn kernels (fresh, canned and drained, or thawed frozen)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese (or feta as a substitute)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced (optional)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and black pepper to taste
Extra chili powder and cotija for garnish

Instructions

Char the corn. Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy pan over medium-high heat with a small drizzle of oil. Add the corn in a single layer and let it sit undisturbed for 2–3 minutes until charred in spots. Stir once, then char another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, and cumin until smooth.
Combine. Add the charred corn, cotija, cilantro, and jalapeño (if using) to the dressing. Stir to coat everything evenly.
Season and taste. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Adjust lime juice or chili powder as needed — the salad should be tangy, creamy, and just a little smoky.
Garnish and serve. Transfer to a serving bowl, dust with a little extra chili powder, and top with an additional sprinkle of cotija. Serve immediately alongside carnitas tacos, or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mexican Corn Salad — The Back-Porch Memorial Day Side with the Charred Corn