Mexican Corn Cups (Esquites)

By: Shareba Abdul
YIELD: 4 servings

Mexican corn cups (a.k.a. esquites) are so easy to make! This healthy snack is loaded with flavour from grilled corn, lime, mayo, cheese and more.

Ingredients:

3 cups of frozen corn (4 ears of corn on the grill adds a wonderful taste to this recipe)

¼ cup mayonnaise, or Mexican crema

2 teaspoons lime juice, plus extra lime wedges for serving, if desired

1 teaspoon chili powder, plus extra for sprinkling (ancho, chipotle, your favourite mix)

salt, to taste (omit if using Feta cheese)

½ cup Cotija cheese, crumbled (substitute with Feta)

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped (for garnish, if desired)

Instructions:

To Make Recipe with Frozen Corn:

Rinse 3 cups of frozen corn under warm water to quickly defrost it. Drain thoroughly.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the drained corn to the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes. The corn will be juicier when cooked for less time, but will take on tasty browned bits if you leave it in the pan longer.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Combine the corn in a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lime juice and chili powder and season with salt as desired.

Spoon a layer of the corn mayo mixture into small cups. Sprinkle a layer of cheese, cilantro (optional), and more chili powder (if desired), then add another layer of corn and continue layering ingredients until the cups are full.

Serve immediately with lime wedges, and refrigerate unused portions promptly. Leftovers will last about 1-2 days in the fridge.

Make Ahead: If you want to make this dish ahead of time, grill the corn, cut off the kernels and store them in the fridge for later. You can make the mayonnaise mixture ahead of time too – just leave everything unassembled until the last minute.

NUTRITION