Starter Mexican
Esquites: charred sweetcorn with lime, chilli and cheese
Vegetarian
Editorially prepared
Deeply browned sweetcorn in a creamy mayonnaise and lime dressing, served cooled with crumbled cheese, coriander and chilli. Makes four small starter or snack portions.
Plan this meal
Set your servings and add the meal. Open your plan to choose more meals and find your combined shopping list.
COOK YOUR WAY
Take this recipe to the kitchen
Start a session to tick off ingredients and steps and use timers.
Ingredients
4 servings · metric units
Cook the base quantity of corn in one batch in a 28–30 cm frying pan. When increasing the recipe, fry in batches and divide the oil between them. Each extra batch adds about 10–12 minutes of frying; divide the garlic between batches too and add it towards the end.
Substitutions
Substitute amounts are adjusted to your selected servings.
- Instead of Cotija cheese made with microbial rennet50 g feta made with microbial rennet
Drain well and crumble. Feta is moister and tangier than firm Cotija but works well as a topping. Taste it before adding salt to the dressing.
- Instead of fresh sweetcorn, large cobsabout 300 g frozen sweetcorn kernels
Thaw in the fridge according to the packaging, drain and dry thoroughly. Fry until browned and tender throughout, also following the packet's cooking instructions. Thawing requires extra time.
- Instead of fresh sweetcorn, large cobsabout 300 g tinned sweetcorn, drained weight
Drain and dry thoroughly. It is already cooked, so fry mainly to develop browned patches; it may need less time than fresh kernels.
Shopping for this recipe
Your list uses the selected servings and fridge. Stock quantities are unknown — check you have enough.
Optional ingredients and substitutions
You’ll need
large heavy-based frying pan, preferably cast iron, 28–30 cm in diameter · hob with one burner · sharp knife and chopping board · wide, shallow bowl for mixing and cooling · spatula, spoon and measuring spoons · kitchen scales · kitchen paper or a clean tea towel · four small serving bowls
Method
0/6 stepsPrepare the ingredients
Remove the husks and silk from the corn cobs. Rinse and dry them, then stand each cob securely on a chopping board and slice off the kernels without cutting into the tough core. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Wash and juice the lime. Wash, thoroughly dry and chop the coriander, then crumble the cheese. Measure the mayonnaise and oil. Refrigerate the cheese and coriander until needed for finishing. Allow about 12 minutes for preparation.
Prepare the ingredients Brown the corn deeply
Pour the oil into a large frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, until shimmering but not smoking. Add the dried kernels and spread them into as even a layer as possible. Cook for about 8–12 minutes from adding the corn, leaving it undisturbed for 1–2 minutes between stirs. Stay by the pan and control the heat. The kernels should be juicy and tender to bite, with distinct dark brown patches but no burnt coating. If they are still pale or firm after 10 minutes, continue cooking and check every minute; lower the heat if they brown too quickly.
10:00Brown the corn deeply Add the garlic
Once the corn is tender and browned, reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute from adding it, until fragrant and no longer raw-smelling. Do not let it darken; if it starts browning sooner, remove the pan from the heat immediately.
01:00Add the garlic Mix with the dressing
Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the corn and garlic to a wide, shallow bowl. Add the mayonnaise and all the prepared lime juice. Mix until the dressing coats the kernels evenly. Season with pepper and a little salt, allowing for the salty cheese added at the end. Allow about 3 minutes for transferring and mixing.
Mix with the dressing Cool the salad
Spread the salad into an even, shallow layer in the bowl and cover loosely. From this point, cool for about 20 minutes in a cool part of the kitchen, until it stops steaming and is close to room temperature. If it is still noticeably warm, leave it for a few more minutes and check again. Do not prolong cooling unnecessarily; refrigerate the salad if you are not serving it as soon as it has cooled.
20:00Cool the salad Portion and finish
Check that the salad has cooled, then give it a brief stir. Divide the whole mixture evenly between four small bowls. Top with the crumbled cheese, chopped coriander and chilli, sharing the toppings between the portions. Serve immediately with teaspoons.
Portion and finish
My note for next time
Saved automatically in this browser. This note is not sent to the editors. 0/2000
Tips
- Dry the kernels thoroughly. Wet corn will steam first and will be harder to brown.
- Do not stir constantly: short periods against the hot pan create browned patches. If the kernels blacken before becoming tender, lower the heat.
- If using frozen corn, allow extra time to thaw it in the fridge according to the packaging, usually 8–12 hours. This is not included in the timing for fresh cobs.
- Judge the salt level with the cheese in mind. Pure ground chilli contains neither citrus nor salt; a chilli, lime and salt seasoning gives a different balance.
Storage
Transfer leftovers to a lidded container and refrigerate within 2 hours of preparation, or within 1 hour in hot weather. Keep at 4°C or below and eat within 2 days. If making ahead, store the cheese and coriander separately and add just before serving. Do not freeze the finished salad: the dressing may split and the herbs will lose their texture.
Timing
Hands-on: 30 min · Cooking: 11 min · Resting: 20 min
The total allows for tasks done in parallel. The individual times can overlap.
