One of my favorite side dishes to make using the corn in my garden is elote dip, comprised of roasted sweet corn, Mexican Crema, queso cotija, chipotle and ancho chile powder, as well as other ingredients.
This year I attempted a new gardening technique for my corn, using the Three Sisters method of planting corn with beans and squash. The three help each other in the garden as the beans provide nitrogen in the soil to help the corn and squash grow, the squash provides shade for everyone’s roots and the corn serves as a structure for the beans to vine on. I used blue-speckled tepary beans I found from Native Seeds Search in Tucson. I also have three different types of squash growing with yellow crookneck, Mexican Grey, and green zucchini.
The sweet corn and silver queen corn are always impressive with how quickly they grow and mature. They were both ready to be harvested two months after I planted them in early April.
I was excited to throw the corn on the grill for some roasted elote and create an elote dip, as a side dish for a carne asada dinner this summer.
INGREDIENTS
4 large sweet corn, roasted
½ red onion, finely chopped
1 serraño, finley chopped (optional)
½ cup cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1 cup Mexican Crema
1 tbsp queso cotija
1 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp ancho chile powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
DIRECTIONS
Roast the corn over the grill (around 400 degrees) for about 6 minutes or until lightly charred on all sides. Next, use a corn shucker or knife to carefully remove the kernels from the cob.
Add the corn kernels to a bowl as well as finely chopped red onion, serraños, and cilantro. Then, place the Mexican Crema and queso cotija into the dish before adding the chile powders, salt, and pepper. Finally, pour in the lime juice and mix the ingredients together until well-combined.
Sunday Salsa 