Elote Pasta Salad
This easy Elote Pasta Salad combines all the deliciousness of Mexican street corn - charred corn, cotija cheese and a creamy chili-lime dressing - with ditalini pasta. It's sure to be a hit at your next picnic or potluck!
Servings: 6 as a side dish (recipe makes about 4 cups total)
Estimated Calories: 239
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup sour cream, I use full-fat sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice, about 2 small limes (bottled lime juice can be used instead)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste (I use kosher salt; if using regular table salt, you may want to use a little less to start)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
For the Salad
- 4 ounces ditalini pasta, dry
- 3 large ears fresh corn on the cob, husks and silk removed (or enough to yield 3 cups of kernels once removed from the cobs after charring)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
- 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced (about ¼ cup)
- ⅓ cup grated cotija cheese
Special Equipment
- grill pan, cast iron skillet or grill
Instructions
Make the Dressing
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, cilantro, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Set aside.
Cook the Pasta
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the package directions. Drain the pasta into a colander and immediately rinse it with cold water until it is cool. Drain well and set aside.
Char the Corn
- Meanwhile, heat a grill pan, cast iron skillet or the grill over medium-high heat until hot. Add the ears of corn and cook, turning occasionally, until the corn turns a deeper yellow color and about half of the kernels have a nice brown color on them, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the corn from the pan or grill and allow to cool, about 15 minutes.
- Cut the corn kernels off of the cob.To do this, I stand the cob up on the stem end (making sure that end is nice and flat so it stays stable) and firmly hold the top end. Then I carefully shave the kernels off the cob with a sharp knife, going from the top to the bottom and getting as close to the cob as I can. If you have a tool that removes the corn from the cob, you can use that instead.
Assemble the Salad
- To the bowl with the dressing, add the cooked pasta, charred corn kernels, green onions, jalapeno pepper, and cotija cheese. Mix until well combined and everything is evenly coated with the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. If desired, garnish the top with corn, green onions, jalapenos, cilantro, and cheese. Serve immediately, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- To use your time most efficiently, peel the corn, slice the onions, dice the jalapenos, chop the cilantro, and make the dressing while waiting for the pasta water to boil. Then char the corn while the pasta is cooking.
- I like to reserve a little bit of the corn kernels, green onions, jalapenos, cotija cheese, and cilantro to garnish the top of the salad; this is optional but makes for a very nice presentation.
- If you're not into cilantro, you can leave it out.
- This salad is as its creamy best when served immediately after mixing everything together so that the pasta and cheese don't have time to soak in a lot of the dressing.
- To make it ahead of time, prepare the dressing and all of the other ingredients and store them separately in the refrigerator. Then mix everything together right before serving.
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