EatMx: Real Mexican food, at home and on the road

For Corn Lovers--Easy Esquites

It's so easy to make esquites, the Mexican street snack of corn seasoned with cheese, cream and chiles.

In this version, the corn is cooked in the microwave, then cut off the cob and mixed with the seasonings. The cheese is cotija, which is dry and crumbly.

The cream is Mexican crema, not sour cream. I buy Oaxacan style crema from the assortment at my market. It's so tasty I could eat it from a spoon, but any crema will do. 

I've used a mild Hatch chile in the recipe, because they're in season during the late summer. An Anaheim chile would work well too.

You can adjust the recipe to taste with hot chiles, salsa, lime juice or other seasonings and multiply it to make as many servings as you need.  

EASY ESQUITES

1 ear corn
1 Hatch chile or Anaheim chile, roasted and peeled
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon grated cotija cheese
1 tablespoon crema Oaxaqueña or other Mexican crema
Salt
Additional crema and cilantro leaves for garnish
Hot or mild red chile powder
Lettuce leaf, tortilla chips, optional

Remove any leaves and corn silk. Wrap the ear of corn in a damp paper towel. Microwave on high 2 minutes, or until fully cooked.  Remove and set aside to cool.

Remove the seeds and stem and chop the chile. 

When the corn is cool to the touch, slice off the kernels with a sharp knife. Place in a bowl. Add the chopped green chile, green onion, chopped cilantro, cotija cheese and crema. Mix well. Add salt to taste.

To serve, place in a small bowl or on a lettuce leaf. Top with additional crema and cilantro leaves. Sprinkle with chile powder.

Accompany with tortilla chips, if you like. 

Makes 1 serving.  

How to Make Really Great Rajas

Love chiles and cheese? Then the dish for you is rajas, where you get even more in the mix--corn, onions and Mexican crema.

At the top you see rajas as served for breakfast at Villa del Palmar resort near Loreto in Baja California Sur. 

Breakfast there can be a handsome plate, with rajas only part of the picture. Look at the other goodies--refried beans in a tortilla shell, chilaquiles at the left and behind the beans, a tamal wrapped in banana leaves.

How to make rajas? Easy. Alejandra Gutiérrez Camarillo (left), who is on the staff at the resort, gave me her own recipe, which is much more interesting than the usual version of this dish. 

She likes to use two types of green chile, poblanos and fresh California chiles--usually you only get one. And she puts in cream cheese as well as Mexican crema to make the flavor even richer.

Instead of oil, she cooks the chiles and onion in butter. If the chiles are too hot, don't worry. Just add more crema she says. And if the mixture becomes too thick, thin it with a little milk. 

ALEJANDRA'S RAJAS

1/2 pound poblano chiles, roasted and peeled
1/2 pound fresh California chiles, roasted and peeled
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 small onion, sliced crosswise into strips
3/4 cup drained canned whole kernel corn
1/2 cup crema agria (Mexican style sour cream)
3 tablespoons cream cheese
Salt
Milk, if needed

Discard the stems from the chiles and rinse out the seeds. Cut them in halves crosswise, then cut lengthwise into strips.

Heat the butter in a medium skillet. Add the onion and cook until it starts to become tender. Stir in the corn, then add the chile strips and stir gently to combine. Cook until heated through.

Stir in the crema. Push the mixture to one side. Add the cream cheese to the empty space in the pan and stir until it melts, then combine with the chile mixture. Season to taste with salt. If too thick, thin with a little milk.

Serve as a dip with tostadas or totopos (tortilla chips), or fold into soft warm corn tortillas and eat like a taco.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups, or 4 to 6 servings.