Mexican Street Corn Nachos with Chipotle Seared Shrimp

Mexican Street Corn, or “Elote” as it is originally known as, has gained popularity in the US within the past three years or so. You can find it on sit down restaurant menus, food trucks, late night bar snacks and even in your own backyard if you have been turned on to this growing trend. But why has this mexican street food, (really took that name literally didn’t they?) become so popular? Well it takes good old corn on the cob, which was delicious and a hit during summer months on its own and well… kicked it’s butt. Instead of slathering just butter and salt on to it as it’s commonly dressed, it takes mayonnaise, cilantro, cotji cheese, salt, lime and chili powder as it’s accompaniments. Let’s unpack this, shall we?

You are quite literally getting a mouthful of flavor with this as the mayonnaise offers moisture and creaminess while also acting as a binding agent for the rest of the ingredients. Following that is the spice that kicks in from the chili powder. Is it a lot of chili powder? Really depends on who is making it for you but if it’s authentic, you should have a decent amount. This is Mexico we are talking about and they do like their heat! Following that is the cheese. Now I’ve seen a few different variations be used for this part. There’s cotija, queso fresco and oaxaca for the more authentic take. And then from a more international spin, parmesan and even feta. Finally, finishing this off is the holy trinity of Mexican accompaniments: salt, lime and cilantro. Is there really a better combo out there for topping off fresh Mexican flavors then salt and lime? Corona fans know what I’m talking about. It screams summer time, beach relaxing, tequila shot taking, margarita sipping fun.

And then there’s cilantro. Arguably, the most polarizing herb out there. You either love it or you hate it. True Mexican meals feature it prominently and honestly, could you imagine their cuisine without it? I’m going to put it straight out there: I hate it. The smell, the taste, everything. There’s a reason for it and I’ll come back to it further down but although I am truly not a fan of this aggressive herb, I’m not too stubborn to admit that some dishes need it. You can’t make a true salsa in my book without it. The combination of these flavors is culinary gold. Everyone is competing for a spot and this is the perfect dish that allows them all to shine.

So for one reason or another, as we here in the Northeast were in the height of the Pandemic Pandemonium in our area, I had a hankering for some Elote goodness. I had flirted with the idea of making nachos with it but never fully committed. Now was a better time then ever I decided and promptly bought all the ingredients to take this meal idea for a spin. My better half, Randy, ADORES nachos and we had actually made our first trip to Mexico together a few weeks prior so we were still basking in the afterglow of that experience. It was a go. Thanks to that, this recipe was born and I’m here to tell you, it went over WELL.

You can go with another meat or protein for this dish other then shrimp, but I chose it because 1. it’s one of my hands down favorite proteins. 2. it’s not too aggressive of a flavor to drawl away from the Elote goodness and 3. it’s quick and easy to cook. You can do crab, chicken, beef or even keep it completely vegetarian.

For this recipe, I used thawed frozen raw shrimp. Obviously you can use fresh but my recommendation is to always, ALWAYS use raw when you can and cook it yourself. This allows you use infuse far more flavor then the already precooked kind. Tails off, shells off and deveined. While it is 100% true that leaving the shells on while cooking does promote even more shrimp flavor, in this situation, it is easier and quicker to cook them as such. Once they are thawed and cleaned, toss them in their seasoning mix and let sit for a bit while you are gathering all of your other ingredients. I used a chipotle seasoning for this recipe because it kicks up the smokiness in the dish and I think it adds another level of flavor.

Take a sheet pan and line it with aluminum foil and give it a good spray of oil. You can use Pam or any other oil that you’d like. Trust me, this is going to make clean up a lot easier when you are done. Additionally, you can use any variation of tortilla chip you’d like. I went with Trader Joe’s Salted Tortilla Chips because of their size and the sturdiness. We are going to be putting a decent amount of toppings on them so keep that in mind when choosing your weapon.. err.. I mean chip. 🙂

We are big cheese people in my family. We LOVVVVEEEE cheese. So of course, there has to be a healthy amount as a whole. But I really went with a good blend of cheeses for a base before adding all the traditional goodies. If you are looking to cut calories or maybe just focus on the original flavors, feel free to omit this option. Make sure to spread everything out and evenly layer your cheeses for ultimate cheesy consumption.

I went with a combo of shredded part skim mozzarella and a Mexican cheese blend. Pro tip: if you want an impressive cheese string or pull on any dish, put mozzarella in it. It’s food porn for the eyes every time.

Now you can take your corn and grill it for authentic flavor or you can do a quick saute to cook it. Beings that it is summer time, the grill may be an easy choice for you. But if it’s not, you can use this quick trick. Take your dry saute pan with no oil and once it’s good and hot over high heat, dump your corn in.

Allow it to sit for a bit as it starts to brown on the kernels. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, keep moving it around to allow even browning.

Once everything is brown, remove from pan and set aside in a small bowl. Keeping the same pan on the heat, add about a tablespoon of oil and allow to get hot. Once you can lift the pan and the oil slides around thinly and quickly, it’s ready for food. We are going to add in the shrimp and cook them on high heat for 5-10 minutes or until they are firm and pink.

Once they are done, slide them out of the pan and on to a cutting board. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes and then roughly chop them. We kept them whole to cook because it keeps in more moisture. If you chop the shrimp before cooking them, there is a higher chance that they will overcook and be very dried out.

Now comes the fun part, layering and cooking! Take the corn kernels and sprinkle them evenly across the chips and cheese. Follow with the shrimp afterwards.

Finally, top off with an additional sprinkling of chipotle seasoning or chili powder and into the oven it goes. Make sure your rack in in the middle of the oven when you are using a broil setting, which we are, or they will burn quickly.

While this is in the oven, we are going to whip up a quick sauce to drizzle across the nachos. We used sour cream in this recipe but if you are looking for a healthier option, nonfat plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute. Fresh lime juice and chipotle seasoning plus a little cumin is going to add flavor plus a layer of moisture and creaminess to the nachos.

Once the cheese is melted on the nachos and everything is golden brown, carefully pull them out of the oven and layer the final ingredients on top. Drizzle your sauce, give a quick sprinkling of queso fresco, your cilantro and scallions and a fresh squeeze of lime. And you are good to go! Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts!