Smokin’ Mexican street salad

We had a big dinner the other night where my husband made his signature chili. I didn’t want to interfere with his dish – as I often tend to do when he’s cooking – so I busied myself doing sides to add some freshness to the spicy Tex Mex affair. This typically Mexican salad is a little bit exotic in my neck of the woods so it’s a nice change – and very easy to make. Just one note: it would be gastronomically criminal to use anything but fresh corn for this recipe so don’t even bother if all you’ve got is canned. The sweetness of the corn is a perfect match for the slightly salty feta, I promise. If you don’t have feta though, you can use a crumbly fresh goat cheese, and if you live in the US or Mexico, you should of course use cotija cheese, which is what the traditional recipe calls for.

UPDATE: I originally made this recipe boiling the corn only and without the sriracha mayo. It was good but this new revamped version is soooo much better: it is the salad version of Mexican street corn slathered with herbs, feta and sriracha mayo. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 corns on the cob
• 1 tbsp butter, ghee or coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 dozen cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped (or a mix of rocket and cilantro)
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled

Dressing

• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 lime
• Salt, pepper

Sriracha mayonnaise

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise, preferably homemade
• 2 tbsp sriracha

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil
2. Shuck the husks, clean the corn and drop it in the pot. Let the water return to a boil again and then leave the corn in for another 4 minutes, covered.
3. Remove the corn from the water, quickly pat dry, rub with ghee and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Then place on a hot barbecue grill, turning them occasionally until they are slightly charred, around 15 minutes. Set aside, until cool enough to handle.
4. Meanwhile, prepare dressing by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl or jar. Set aside.
5. Prepare sriracha mayonnaise by mixing mayonnaise and sriracha in a small bowl. Set aside.
6. Once corn has cooled, slice the corn kernels off the cob with a sharp knife, length-wise. Put the kernels in a large salad bowl.
7. Add the avocado, tomatoes, cilantro and feta. Toss lightly.
8. If you are serving it right away, mix in the dressing and drizzle sriracha on top. If not, cover and place in the fridge. Do this step when you are ready to serve.