Charred corn salad without the grill

If you’re enjoying grilled corn with only butter and salt, you’re missing out.

Take just one bite of Mexican street corn, called “elote,” and you’ll know why it has become wildly popular in the United States. A charred ear of corn is slathered with rich, tangy crema; coated with salty cotija cheese; sprinkled with chili powder; and finished with a squeeze of lime.

This smoky, creamy, bright, salty ear has just one catch: It’s messy to eat.

Some vendors offer elote in salad form (esquites), with charred kernels layered or tossed with the garnishes. You get the ideal ratio of flavors and textures in every bite but with the convenience of a fork. We wanted to make a recipe for this flavor-packed side dish even when we weren’t firing up the grill.

To char the corn and give the salad its signature flavor, we turned to the stove. We cut the kernels off the cob so more kernels could come in contact with the heat, then cooked them in two batches, covered, to trap steam.

After just a few minutes, the corn on the bottom was perfectly charred and the rest was juicy and tender.

It was time to dress the dish. Mexican crema can be hard to find, but a combination of mayonnaise, sour cream and lime juice produced a similar creamy tang and clung even better to the corn.

To give our salad heat and bite, we stirred in some sliced serrano chile, chili powder and garlic that we toasted in the empty skillet after cooking the corn.

Finally, once the mixture had cooled, we tossed in cilantro, scallions and some salty crumbled cotija cheese.

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