There are two things I love at a cookout: grilled corn and pasta salad. Our Pasta Salad with Charred Corn and Cilantro melds them together, taking inspiration from classic Mexican street corn.

Typically sold by street vendors, esquites is grilled corn that is served off the cob and mixed with a variety of toppings like cotija cheese, mayonnaise, cilantro and lime juice. It’s a spin on the on the cob version, elote. Both are an equally delicious way to serve perfectly grilled corn.

Inspired by both, this recipe is made with charred corn (that you can char inside without a grill), and the entire thing comes together in under 30 minutes.

And it's very flexible. You can use whatever small noodles you like for this. I like the recommended shape, ditalini, because it’s almost the exact same size as kernels of corn, which makes for a really cohesive salad, but elbows would be a great substitute.

We offer instructions for either fresh or frozen corn, but I recommend getting really fresh summer corn for this when possible. The charring technique works with either, but keep in mind you won’t be able to use the cobs in your cooking water if you opt to use frozen.

Don’t toss those corn cobs!

Spent corn cobs have so much to give, even after you’ve stripped them of their kernels. In this recipe, we boil the corn cobs in the pasta-cooking water, infusing the dish with extra corn flavor while cutting down on food waste. It’s one of our favorite techniques, and one that we us in our Campanelle Pasta with Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, and Basiland Sweet Corn Polenta with Tomato and Basil.

As they boil, the water takes on a golden hue and your entire kitchen becomes perfumed with the aroma of fresh corn. It’s a gorgeous summer smell, one that I love to embrace this time of year.

How to char corn without a grill

Mexican street corn typically is charred on the cob, then sliced off and mixed with the toppings, or eaten right off the cob with the toppings applied. Charring adds layers of flavor to all kinds of produce. We recently developed a charred guacamole recipe using similar lessons Chris brought back from Mexico City.

It’s a little smoky and a lot more complex than sautéed corn. I used my cast iron skillet to get maximum heat out of my little apartment stovetop. All it takes is a couple of minutes and some ripping hot oil. I highly recommend doing this in smaller batches to avoid crowding the pan. Crowded kernels release more moisture, which turns into steam and inhibits charring.

And don’t touch it! Let the corn sit in contact with the skillet undisturbed for a few minutes before stirring. That charring won’t happen if you stir the kernels constantly.

The best dressing for pasta salad doesn’t contain any mayo

There’s a relatively short ingredient list, but each ingredient is intentional. The Mexican crema makes up the bulk of the dressing. If you can’t source crema, a little sour cream thinned out with water works just fine. We use the juice of the jarred jalapeños to bring some acid in (and the jalapeños themselves, of course).

Cilantro adds that punchy, herbaceous bite. Cotija cheese is tangy and a little sharp, a bit like parmesan cheese— which is a fine substitute if you can’t find cotija. This recipe recommends serving with limes on the side, but the limes are essential. That brightness is a really welcome finishing note, as well as a perfect complement to the cotija, cilantro, and, of course, that gorgeous, golden corn.

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Willow Montana

Willow Montana is the Production Manager of Digital Media at Milk Street. Willow spends their days coordinating and planning video shoots, managing schedules and overseeing the execution of digital projects. They studied Baking and Pastry Arts at Johnson and Wales University and worked in restaurants while putting themself through six more years of college. They hold a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in English Literature and a Master’s of Fine Arts in Publishing and Writing. Willow is a firm believer in living a slow, quiet life and making things by hand. When they aren’t following the developers around with a camera at the Milk Street office, they may be found at home shaping loaves of sourdough, caring for dozens of houseplants and, occasionally, out in the wild at a punk rock show.