Roasted corn and red pepper salad with bacon and avocado is my new favorite salad. I mean it. No joke.
Cinco de Mayo may have already come and gone but this is a wonderful corn salad to enjoy year round. And who doesn’t love corn? I’m sure there’s someone out there that doesn’t, but no one I know. And this is an absolute “must make” for any corn lover or corn liker because if you’re just a liker, you’ll turn into a lover after this.
If you’re a corn dis-liker, then, I guess I won’t try to convince you as corn is the main ingredient in this recipe- roasted corn that is! OMG! So I’ll get right to it because some of you corn lovers and likers may wonder what the heck Esquites is. But before we discuss Esquites, we gotta talk about Elote. Huh? Stay with me. It’s not complicated. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Elote, Elote is grilled corn topped with butter, mayonnaise, cheese, lime juice, and chili powder commonly sold throughout Mexico. Is your mouth watering yet? The combination may sound a little odd, but think about it for a second….
Those are some really awesome flavors that I would have never in a gazillion years thought of putting together. Thank you, Mexico, for helping a gal out. Now for the Esquites part…. If you cut the corn off the cob and then mix it with the toppings, you have Esquites. Pretty neat, huh? So this is my take on Esquites. I punched it up a bit by adding red bell pepper, ancho chile powder, bacon, and avocado. I also made it simpler by using frozen corn and eliminating the need for a grill. I think Gary just cried a little. No worries though, if you want to grill the corn- by all means, grill the corn!
- 4 slices bacon
- 5 cups frozen corn
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, chopped
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsps. butter, melted
- 1½ Tbsps. lime juice
- ¼ tsp. each ancho chile powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar
- ⅛ tsp. cumin
- ⅓ cup cotija or feta cheese, chopped and crumbled
- 1 avocado, peeled, chopped
- ¼ cup green onions (scallions), chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
- In a large skillet, fry bacon then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Chop when cooled.
- Heat a large, non stick pan over high heat without oil. Add corn and let it sit 3 minutes or so without stirring so it begins to brown and roast. Then give and shake or stir and roast another 2-3 minutes until the corn is roasted all over. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Repeat the same process with the red pepper and jalapeno and transfer to the bowl with the roasted corn.
- Stir in remaining ingredients. Serve room temperature or cold.
Thanks Lindsay from Pinch of Yum for introducing me to this roasted corn technique.
P.S. The Mexican Spice Kit is currently on sale for a limited time for $29 with FREE shipping!
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