Made a bunch of these for an event over the weekend. Is simple and every bite hits. It’s one of those to serve for a gathering or impress over brunch.

Ingredients

• Corn (kern?)
• Cotija cheese
• Mayo (/vegan)
• A green pepper (jalapeño, serrano)
• Cilantro
• Garlic, the magic ingredient
• Cocounut oil or ghee butter
  • Or the fat of a meat, for example if you made bacon
• Aleppo pepper flakes
• Maybe: coriander seeds, crushed.
• Optional: lime
  

Get yerself some fresh kern. Dekern it into a mixing container. This will give you an idea of how much cotija and mayo to combine, later. I’d aim roughly for a corn a person for a full size serving, though. If doing smaller plates or as an aside, maybe a (1) kern could stretch to cover 4 people. 

Stretch.

Put a stove or pan on high heat. Like medium +, or even high. When the pan is pretty hot, toss in the corn. Let it char (cher?) and roast, you’ll know it’s done when they’ve shrunk a bit, are more golden and browned, and maybe even popping around your stove. One got me in the abdomen the other day, it stung. (I was wearing a crop top…)

While the above is happening, mix the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Dice pepper, garlic, and cilantro small, shape doesn’t matter so long as small. Crumble a fistful (or two or three) of cotija into the mix. If making a lot, a few handfuls will be needed. Then throw in a tablespoon of(+) mayo. These two I tend to eyeball every time. I try to aim for as less mayo needed as possible. It’s always easy to add in more, so start with a lower estimate and stir in. Assess.

Once everything is mixed together and the corn is popping, throw the corn directly into the mixing bowl, rather than the mixing bowl into the corn. Toss, and serve.

That’s it!