On my birthday this year I ate at Las Tortugas. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in the Memphis area. I love everything about it including the elote con cotija y mayonesa I order every visit. My roommate several years ago first introduced me to it and told me I’d order it every time from then on. He was so right.

Elote con cotija y maonesa is their version of Mexican street corn. It’s sweet corn steamed fresh and rolled in lime, mayo, cotija cheese, and crushed chilies. It’s amazing.

Recently for dinner we had corn and decided to spice it up a bit based on my favorite corn from Las Tortugas. There are a ton of recipes online for this style of Mexican Street corn so after browsing a few and based on my own experience eating it, I whipped something up quickly.

It’s titled with an “ish” because I had to use parmesan cheese rather than the amazing cotija cheese. The Kroger we visited right before cooking didn’t have cotija cheese. This lacking ingredient made me yearn for the more diverse aisles of the Kroger in my neighborhood. I never realized how much the stores tailor their offerings to specific neighborhoods until trying to buy ingredients for Mexican food in the suburbs. Depending on the style of food you want to prepare you have to visit stores in different parts of town in Memphis. Next time I’ll be better prepared and visit the store before it’s time to cook!

Mexican Street Corn… Ish

The use of parmesan changed the authenticity of the dish but it still ended up being delicious. Sure it’s not a healthy way to eat corn every meal, but it’s so tasty you’ll wish it was on the menu daily.

      

Ingredients:

• Butter
• Corn on the cob
• Mayonnaise
• Cilantro
• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Limes

Directions:

• Gather all ingredients.
• Chop cilantro. This was fresh from the garden!
• Butter and grill corn. Split in half if desired. I find it makes it easier.
• Mix together mayo with lime juice and garlic powder to taste.
• Sprinkle out parmesan cheese onto a flat surface.
• Brush mayo mix onto slightly cooled corn.
• Roll corn on the cob in the parmesan so it stick to corn. Use little corn on the cob holders if you have them… it makes it much easier!
• Sprinkle with cilantro, paprika, chili powder, and garlic powder mix. I premixed this without measuring and think it would be almost easier to sprinkle on as you go rather than mixing. It was definitely an experiment.
• Cut additional limes and serve for people to use on top as they desire.

This corn ended up being great despite making it for the first time and not having the perfect ingredients for it. I plan to make it again at the next special occasion grill out because it will be a huge hit. It’s a perfect special occasion food – tasty and something you wouldn’t eat on a nightly basis.

If you’ve never had corn in this style before… try it! Make it yourself or run asap to the nearest Mexican food location that offers it near you. Your life will be better because of it.