Ever since I saw this recipe posted on Serious Eats by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt in early June I have been itching to make it.  I waited patiently each week for corn to arrive in my CSA share to make sure I had the freshest, tastiest corn available; because when your tacos main ingredients are corn and zucchini you want the best. 

Well last week, I finally had the opportunity and this recipe definitely lived up to my expectations.  Generally, taco night at our house are fish tacos, so this was a nice change. I modified the recipe slightly for the amount of corn and zucchini I had at home, plus I was only cooking for two (the recipe is for four). My changes will be listed here, but please click on the link listed below for the original version. 

One technical note,  I almost always cook with my Le Creuset enameled cast iron skillet or a non-stick, it is really important that you use a stainless steel skillet for this recipe.  Anything else won’t give you the necessary char.  Be warned though, the corn pops and gets everywhere, I made the mistake of not using a splatter screen and it made a big mess.   

I served this with some homemade peach salsa, which takes care of the half a onion and jalapeno used in this recipe.

Recipe:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 ears fresh corn, kernels removed

1 small onion or half medium onion, finely diced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely minced

2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane

1 zucchini, cut into 1/2” cubes

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

2 limes

6-8 corn tortillas, lightly charred

Crumbled Feta (or if you can find it Cojita cheese)

1/3 cup sour cream (for crema sauce)

Salsa Verde

Heat half the oil in a stainless steel skillet over high heat until smoking.  Add the corn and toss, and cook without moving until charred on one side, about 2-3 minutes.  Toss the corn and char on second side about 2 minutes longer.  Continue to cook and toss until well charred about 10 minutes total.

 

Add the onions and jalapeno and cook, stirring occasionally until softened.  Add garlic and cook, about 30 seconds.   Transfer the corn mixture to a clean bowl.  Carefully rinse out the hot pan and dry.

Return the pan to high heat and add the remaining oil, heat again until smoking. Add zucchini and cook without moving until well charred about 2-3 minutes.  Toss zucchini and repeat on second side.  Toss again and cook for a few more minutes until cooked through and charred. 

Add the zucchini to the corn mixture, fold in cilantro and juice of one lime.  Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. 

To make the crema sauce, in a small bowl mix together the sour cream and juice from 1/2 lime. 

To char the tortillas either char directly over a gas flame, which is what I do – be sure to keep an eye on the tortillas, they only need to stay on about 5-10 seconds per side; or char in a cast iron pan.  Keep warm in foil until ready to serve.

Serve your taco with lime wedges, crema, salsa verde and feta or cojita cheese.