Elote Corn Ribs

 

My love and I went out to dinner in Fort St John with his mom. She took us to this lovely Mexican restaurant called Broken Spanish. One of the things on the menu was elote - something I have been dying to try FOREVER. 

The above photo is from the restaurant. Sooooooo good!

 I knew I had to try and recreate it when I got home. 

My version isn't nearly as good as the one from the restaurant BUT I'm still happy with it. I was expecting it to be harder to make. It's pretty easy AND can be prepped ahead of time, which is perfect for dinner parties or family gatherings. 

I'm also going to try it as a corn salad next. :) 

Elote Corn Ribs

Ingredients

3 ears of corn

2 Tbsp mayo

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 Tbsp jalapeño, diced fine

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika (or smoked paprika)

1/4 tsp chili powder

salt & pepper

2 - 3 Tbsp oil

1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled (or feta)

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Mix together mayo, sour cream, and jalapeño. Set aside. 

Mix spices together in a small bowl. 

Cut corn in half diagonally. Then cut each half in half again, vertically. Place the flat sides down and cut in half again. If your corn is large, cut into thirds instead of halves. (You can do a quick Google search for videos on how to do this safely. It can be a bit tricky if your corn cobs are large!) Each cob should yield 4 - 6 ribs. 

Place each "rib" onto the prepared cookie sheet. Drizzle with a little oil. Sprinkle with about half of the seasonings. 

Bake at 400 for about 20 - 30 minutes, flipping the ribs halfway. 

When they have reached your desired level of doneness, remove from heat and slather the sauce on them. 

Sprinkle the remaining spices on top, then sprinkle generously with the crumbled cheese and cilantro. 

Serve immediately. 

Cotija cheese is the cheese traditionally used for elote. I was unable to find any near me, so I used plain feta. It is a good substitute in a pinch. 

If you don't like cilantro, then you can skip it, but it will change the flavour of the corn. 

Next time I make this, I will definitely add more spices. That was the biggest difference between my version and the restaurant version. Of course, you can adjust the spices to how you like them! Use my recipe as a jumping-off point. 

I am going to try this on a full cob of corn AND as a salad. I love the flavours so I am pretty sure I will like any combo of them. 

Also - you can, of course, cook this on a grill/BBQ. I don't have one otherwise I would have tried it. :)