Street Corn Garnaches

I feel like Mexican-style corn on the cob is the belle of summer 2014’s ball—it’s everywhere! I’ve seen that charred corn, chile, and cheese mixture folded into crepes and tucked into casseroles, made dippable and spoon-friendly.While all that sounds like something I would eat con ganas I wanted to put the street back in street corn.

The term garnaches means many things to many people but generally refers to any food served out in the open whether that be a cart, truck, or grates set over hot charcoal in an open oil barrel. One of my favorite variations are crisp mini tostadas dipped in a garlicky tomato sauce and topped with any number of fillings from smashed pinto beans to shredded beef. This version also adapts itself well to the creamy, sweet, spiciness of charred Mexican sweet corn.

These little mouthfuls make an impressive appetizer for an informal party or double the recipe and make them the star of the meal. They need to be served immediately though because the longer they sit around the soggier they get. Have everything ready before you fry the tostadas and dip them in the sauce so that after their salsa bath they will be ready to top with the corn mixture and serve.

Street food meet street food, I think you’ll be friends.

One more thing: I want to say a quick Congratulations to our lucky winner, Jamie! Who won the amazing summer fútbol giveaway from Pampers. Thank you to everyone who entered, left a comment, and liked ¡Hola! Jalapeño on Facebook—you all are winners in my book!

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Street Corn Garnaches

Yield: 6-8

Garnaches are popular street food in Belize that are fried corn tortillas topped with beans and cheese. We've combined them with Mexico's street corn, yum!

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Ingredients

For the Sauce:

• 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Corn:

• 3 ears sweet corn, shucked
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

For the Tostadas:

• vegetable oil, for frying
• 24 corn tortillas

To Serve:

• Cayenne Lime Mayo
• Crumbled cotija cheese
• Lime wedges

Instructions

1. To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in a blender and purée until smooth. Pour into a shallow bowl and set aside.
2. To make the corn, hold each ear of corn upright and remove the kernels by sliding your knife down the side of the ear, rotating the ear of corn until all kernels have been removed.
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add corn, garlic, cumin, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper and cook until corn is tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
4. Heat enough oil in a large, deep frying pan so it comes about 1-inch up the sides of the pan. While oil is heating take a stack of 2 or 3 tortillas and cut into 3-inch circles with a biscuit cutter. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Cut the scraps into pieces and fry for chips with the leftover oil when you are done.
5. Once oil has reached 350°F or a piece of bread dropped in the oil browns in 30 seconds, add 5 or 6 tortilla circles to the hot oil. Fry on one side until brown and crisp, then flip and repeat on the remaining side, about 3-4 minutes total.
6. Remove the tostadas from the oil and immediately dip in the tomato sauce. Lay on a serving platter and top each garnache with corn, a drizzling of cayenne lime mayo, and a sprinkle of cheese. Serve immediately.

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