MEXICAN GRILLED CORN APPETIZERS

Mexican Grilled Corn Appetizers image

This is another recipe by Aaron Sanchez and Cacique USA. This recipe is very versatile- you can have it as an appetizer or as a main meal depending what ingredients you place on top. You can use packaged polanta as the base,( which I will explain below), or pre-made corn tortillas for thinner base or use cornmeal and make your...

Provided by Pat Duran

Time 1h15m

Number Of Ingredients 21

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Ingredients

CORN FILLING:
2 medium ears fresh corn, husks removed and kernels cut from cob
4 oz beef,pork or soy chorizo, remove from casing
salt and pepper to taste
SOPES:
pre-made sopes may be purchased in hispanic stores
or you may use polenta and slice in rounds about 1/2-inch thick and fry the same
corn tortilla may also be used- cut with a cookie cutter about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in size- fry the same- just less time
2 c masa corn flour
1 1/4 c water
1 qt canola oil
NOPALES PICO DE GALLO:
1/2 lb noples(cactus petals), pre-cleaned
1 c tomato, diced small
1 bunch scallions
1 c canned pickled jalapeños, diced small with seeds,optional
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz queso fresco, crumbled ( like mild feta cheese)

Steps:

1. Corn Filling: In a medium sauté pan cook chorizo and corn for 10 minutes, crumbling the chorizo with a wooden spoon while coking. Set aside and keep warm.
2. Sopes: (Be sure to pick with a fork before frying) photo 2 with small rim) photo 3 and 4 finger pinched to form rim- pick all with fork. Place the masa corn flour in a bowl and add about 1/2 c. of water and mix with your hands for about 2 minutes. Make 3-inch rounds of the masa using the palm of your hands, pinching the edges of the rounds to create a little wall. (I flatten the circles with a floured glass that is just a little smaller than the circle and push the dough up to make a ridge). The cooking process is divided into 2 parts: 1) pre-cook on pan without oil 2) fry crispy. After completing all the sopes, heat a wide thick bottom sauté pan or comal(tortilla cooker) over medium heat for 5 minutes. Once hot, place the sope on pan or comal and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes. Begin to preheat another pan with 1 quart of canola oil to 375^. (Fry the pre-cooked sopes a couple at a time in 350^ hot oil) until golden brown. Once browned, carefully remove to paper towels.
3. For nopales pico de gallo: Fire up the grill or BBQ. While the BBQ is heating, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Once water is boiling, add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the water and boil the nopales for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and set aside. Once the grill is hot, lightly oil the nopales and scallions, season with salt and pepper and grill until a bit charred. Remove and set aside until at room temperature, then dice them into small pieces.
4. Place mopales,scallions, tomatoes, pickled jalapenos, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set aside. --- To serve: Place the hot corn and chorizo mix inside the sope round, top with a spoonful of nopales pico de gallio , then crumbled cheese on top. Serve immediaately. For vegetarian dish use the soy chorizo.