Happy almost Cinco de Mayo! In case you thought it was just an excuse to get your margarita game on, it’s actually the commemoration of the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 (more info here!). Though in the U.S., it’s used more as an excuse to eat awesome Mexican food. We are awful, I know.
But since it’s hard to say no to Mexican food any time, I’m taking one of my favorite Mexican street foods, elote, and turning it into a delicious, charred, savory, elote pizza (charred corn pizza).
Technically, this should be esquites pizza, which means off the cob, but I’m splitting hairs there, I think. Either way, it’s just being inspired by either yummy snack.
If you’ve never tried elote, I’m not surprised. It’s usually served in Mexico on the cob, with condiments like butter, mayo, salt, lemon or lime juice, and chili powder. I first saw it up here in the Chicago area about three years ago and haven’t stopped looking for it on menus ever since.
If you’re in Texas or California, it may be much more popular down there for you than it has been up here. I’m hoping it becomes way more popular soon. It’s delish.
I swapped the traditional mayonnaise for Mexican crema, but you can absolutely use mayo if you prefer it. Just a big ol’ pile of hot corn, cotija cheese, a drizzle of mayo, some lime, cilantro, and a generous shake of chili powder or Tajin. Blah. Gimme.
Turning this into an elote pizza was an easy decision. I decided on a whole wheat crust with the same ingredients above plus some olive oil and a little garlic and black pepper. It’s the white pizza of my Cinco de Mayo dreams.
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Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2½ tsp active dry yeast
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups plus 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
- Fine-ground conrmeal, for rolling
- Homemade pizza crust
- 2 ears sweet corn
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup Mexican Crema (or thinned sour cream, mayonnaise, or crème fraîche)
- 1 oz cotija cheese (or goat cheese crumbles)
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper
- several fresh limes
- handful of fresh cilantro
- chili powder or Tajin seasoning
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the water, honey, and yeast. Let sit until the yeast activates, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in the olive oil, salt, and 1½ cups of flour. Turn on the mixer and mix until the dough comes together, adding 1 tablespoon of the remaining flour at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky.
- Remove from the mixer, cover with a warm damp towel, and let rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 500F.
- Shuck the corn. Rub the corn with ½ tablespoon of the olive oil. Cook on a hot grill or stove top, turning occasionally until charred, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly, then remove the kernels from the cob with a knife.
- Sprinkle the cornmeal on a cutting board, pizza peel, or skillet and turn the dough out onto the cornmeal and roll into a 14-inch circle (I used an oiled cast iron skillet). Brush the top with ½ of the olive oil and the minced garlic.
- Mix the crema with the juice of 2 limes. Stir well and set aside.
- Arrange corn, cotija cheese crumbles, black pepper, and half of the cilantro on top of the dough.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until the crust begins to brown. Sprinkle on the rest of the cilantro and the chili powder. Drizzle with the crema lime mixture and serve with lime wedges.
If you make this recipe, share a photo and hashtag it #BIJOUXANDBITS. I’d love to see what you’re cooking!
Dough recipe adapted from Food Network Kitchen.
Catherine Clark is a Chicago native sharing noteworthy things she sees and attempts to make in the world. She's a geek, cat lady, designer and editor by day, and noob chef by night.
Would love to constantly get updated outstanding blog!