OMG. This recipe is so delicious. Need proof? Super Sous and I grilled 7 ears of corn when developing this recipe and devoured them all within 15 minutes. In fact, Super Sous exclaimed, “this is the best grilled corn dish I’ve ever had!” when all was said and gone, I mean done.
Elote or the Mexican-style street food version of corn is common to see here, being sold, in LA. Vendors in parks or on street corners set up camp with their makeshift grills, tub of mayonnaise, chili powder and cojita cheese, serving the sweet and savory cobs to eager customers. It’s pretty fantastic; a pleasure on the taste buds.
Since Super Sous and I have been creating Drought Friendly Recipes, we realized that we could still enjoy this creamy crunchy corn on the cob, sans egg and cheese by doing a swap out with soymilk aioli (aioli is normally made with an egg, but soymilk acts as an emulsifier) and using a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for the cheesy creaminess. Add to that a special spice mix blend we created (take that, chili powder!) and fresh chopped cilantro and you have a winner.
This recipe serves 12, but you may need to double or triple the batch. Trust us. It’s addictive.
Shucked corn with one layer of husk left
Grilled corn
Vegan Aioli
Slathering on the aioli
Time to dig in
Drought Friendly Elote: Mexican-style Grilled Corn
Yield: 12 servings
12 ears of corn, whole and unshucked
Vegan Aioli (recipe below)
Elote Spice Mix (recipe below)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 cup packed roughly chopped cilantro
Preheat your grill to medium-high.
Shuck the corn, leaving 1 layer of husk covering the cob. Cut off the silk at top of corn.
Place the corn on the grill, close the lid, and grill for a total of 15 minutes, rotating the corn ⅓ turn every 5 minutes, until the corn is cooked and the husks are slightly charred.
Remove the corn from the grill, carefully shuck the corn (hot!). Brush with aioli, sprinkle some of the spice mix and yeast on the corn and top with cilantro.
Serve, enjoy, repeat.
Drought Friendly Vegan Aioli
Yield: 1 cup
1 large clove garlic, pressed (1/4 teaspoon)
3½ teaspoons lime juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup organic soy milk
2/3 cup organic grapeseed oil
Mix all ingredients except oil in a small container or bowl with high sides. (I used the glass container that goes with my French Press.
Using an immersion blender, blend all ingredients thoroughly.
Keep the immersion blender a bit raised in the container, to where the liquid is churning vigorously. Slowly stream the oil into the vortex of the churning liquid. Don’t rush this step. The slower the oil stream, the better. The liquid will thicken and form to the consistency of mayonnaise. Refrigerate until use.
Elote Spice Mix
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon chipotle powder
1¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
Mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
Chef Nathan Lyon 