I used to live in Echo Park, which is maybe my favorite neighborhood in all of Los Angeles. I used to walk to the lake and walk around with my dog. And while I usually wouldn’t carry my purse or anything like that, I would always make sure to carry a few dollars so I could get elote from one of the vendors selling street corn. It is SO good. It’s simple, too. A bit of crema, cayenne, lime juice on charred, freshly grilled corn.

This is a pasta salad version. It’s cold and perfect to prepare for a picnic or bbq or summer gathering. The dressing is nice and tart—to avoid it from being too heavy—and the elote pasta, well, it’s pasta so it’s delicious.

Elote Pasta

This elote pasta has a nice dressing that is tart and isn't overly heavy. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• Dressing:
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon ground Ancho chile powder
• Zest from 1 lime
• Juice from 1 lime
• Salt
• Pasta Salad Fixings:
• 1 pound pasta of choice (I used farfalle)
• 1 ear of corn 
• 2 ounces cotija, crumbled 
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro, plus more leaves as garnish

Directions

1. To Make the Dressing: Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, cayenne, chile powder, lime zest, lime juice and a few pinches of salt. Whisk together until it becomes smooth. Give it a taste and adjust the salt, as needed.
2. To Make the Pasta Fixings: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook per the instructions on the package, or until al dente. Drain and run under cold water. (I normally would never run my pasta under cold water but I do this for pasta salad only.) Return back to the pot and drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil and toss. The oil will help the pasta from sticking as it cools.
3. Char the ear of the corn over the flame of your stove, rotating it every so often, until it's evenly charred. Slice the corn off the cob and reserve a handful of them to use as garnish.
4. To a medium bowl, add the pasta, dressing, corn minced cilantro and cotija. Toss together until evenly coated. Give it a taste and adjust the salt as needed. Make sure to get a bite with the cheese because that helps with the saltiness in this dish. Top with the reserved corn and some more cotija and cilantro. Serve! This is a great thing to make ahead for a party or bbq. I would add all of the ingredients to the bowl and toss in the dressing just before serving.

Yield: Serves 4-6

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.