Elote Salad

Thanks to the big glob of mayonnaise, this is not a healthy or low calorie salad.  The best salads usually are unhealthy.  Things like mayonnaise, bacon, avocado, and cheese have a way of improving the flavor of salads.

It's summer, the days are a little longer, and thus we are all exercising more.  Therefore,  we can eat salads with a big glops of mayonnaise.  

Elote is a Mexican street food.  It is usually served on a stick.  It's often served with crema, chile powder, butter, cheese, lemon juice, lime juice, mayonnaise, or sour cream.

When I was in college, I spend a summer in Puebla, Mexico.  The street food was always delicious, and I had a hard time saying no to a warm corn on the cob smothered with cheese.

My memories of elote were brought back a couple of weeks ago when I ordered this dish as an appetizer at a restaurant near my apartment. Their version was much more fancy, but simple can be enjoyable too.

The ingredients for this salad are 3 ears of corn, 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 lime, salt, and queso fresco.

I cooked the ear of corn in the water for 10 minutes in a covered pan.  The water was already boiling when I added the ears of corn.  Once the corn had cooled enough to handle, I cut the kernels off the cob.

I added the mayonnaise and lemon juice.

I garnished each dish with crumbles of queso fresco.   

Queso fresco is an un-aged, soft cheese. It is made my heating whole milk until it is almost boiling.  An acid like vinegar is added.  After stirring, curds begin to form.  The curds are drained in a cheese cloth for 3 to 4 hours.

I didn't make my own queso fresco, but I thought you might be curious.  This was a delicious and creamy salad.  It wouldn't be good for a picnic because of all the mayonnaise.  It has a little sour undertone.  The salty cheese garnish was a nice addition.