There is something about Labor Day weekend that feels like summer is asking us not to put the camping chairs away just yet.
Technically, summer still has a few weeks left. The calendar says autumn doesn’t arrive until later in September. But Labor Day has always seemed to draw an unofficial line across the season. School is starting. Football is back. The days are getting noticeably shorter, and here in Michigan, those cool evenings begin sneaking into the campground as soon as the sun disappears behind the trees.
Still, we’re not ready to surrender summer without one more cookout.
And if the grill is going to be fired up one more time, there had better be something good sitting beside whatever comes off it.
Street Corn Pasta Salad might be exactly that something.
A Little Street Corn Inspiration
Mexican street corn, or elote, already has most of what makes a great summer side dish.
Sweet corn gets a little char. Lime brings some brightness. Cotija cheese adds a salty bite, while chili gives everything just enough heat to get your attention.
Now imagine those flavors folded into pasta with a creamy dressing.
That’s where this Street Corn Pasta Salad comes in.
It is substantial enough that nobody is going to mistake it for an afterthought, but it still plays nicely beside grilled chicken, ribs, burgers, brats, or just about anything else we might be cooking outside.
For campground cooking, I especially like that much of the work can be finished ahead of time. Make it earlier in the day, slide the covered bowl into the RV refrigerator, and let it chill while everyone gets on with the important business of camping.
By suppertime, the salad is ready and the cook isn’t stuck inside the RV while everybody else is gathered around the grill.
That sounds like a pretty good arrangement to me.
Making It in the Camper
This recipe calls for a pound of ditalini pasta, and that small shape works particularly well because the corn, peppers, cheese, and dressing find their way into nearly every spoonful.
Start by bringing a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta about one minute longer than the package directions suggest. Once it’s done, drain it and rinse it under cold water.
While the pasta cooks, the best part of the recipe starts happening in the skillet.
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet over medium-high heat. Add the kernels from six ears of corn, a diced poblano pepper, the white portions of six sliced green onions, one teaspoon kosher salt, and half a teaspoon black pepper.
Let everything cook for about five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally rather than constantly.
We’re looking for a little char on that corn.
That means giving it enough time against the hot skillet to actually brown. If we keep pushing it around every few seconds, we’ll cook the corn, but we’ll miss some of that roasted flavor that makes street corn so good.
Once the corn begins taking on some color, stir in two finely chopped garlic cloves. Then remove the skillet from the heat, transfer everything to a large bowl, and give it about five minutes to cool.
Now comes the creamy part.
Fold in one cup mayonnaise and one cup crema, along with the zest and juice from three limes. Add another teaspoon kosher salt and the remaining half teaspoon black pepper.
Crema gives the dressing a smooth, slightly tangy character, but this isn’t one of those recipes that should be abandoned because the campground grocery store doesn’t happen to carry Mexican crema. Sour cream works just fine.
Next, fold in one cup crumbled Cotija cheese, one cup chopped fresh cilantro, two teaspoons chili powder, the cooled pasta, and those reserved green onion tops.
Give everything a good fold rather than aggressively stirring it. We’re trying to bring the ingredients together without turning the pasta salad into paste.
A little extra cilantro over the top finishes it off, and anyone who prefers more heat can add hot sauce at the table.
Then comes the difficult part.
Put it in the refrigerator and leave it alone for a while.
A Salad That Doesn’t Mind Waiting
There are campground recipes that demand perfect timing.
This isn’t one of them.
Street Corn Pasta Salad actually benefits from some refrigerator time. The dressing settles into the pasta, the lime works its way through everything, and all those individual flavors begin tasting like they belong together.
That’s useful when we’re camping.
Nobody wants to be measuring lime juice while somebody outside is announcing that the chicken is already coming off the grill.
Prepare the salad earlier, clean up the skillet and pasta pot, put everything away, and get back outside.
When dinner rolls around, there’s one less thing demanding attention.
And should we be taking a covered dish to a campground potluck or joining friends at another campsite, this one travels easily. Just remember that the mayonnaise, crema, and cheese mean it needs to stay properly chilled. A good cooler with plenty of ice or ice packs works when refrigerator space is tight.
Summer cookouts are supposed to be relaxed. Food safety doesn’t take the weekend off.
Street Corn Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
- 1 pound ditalini pasta
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 ears fresh corn, kernels removed, about 4 to 5 cups
- 1 poblano pepper, diced
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup crema or sour cream
- Zest and juice of 3 limes
- 1 cup crumbled Cotija cheese, about 4 ounces
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus additional cilantro for serving
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- Hot sauce, optional
Directions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ditalini and cook it about one minute longer than the package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- Char the corn. Heat the vegetable oil in a large cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn, poblano pepper, green onion whites, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the corn begins to char.
- Add the garlic. Stir in the chopped garlic, remove the skillet from the heat, and transfer the corn mixture to a large bowl. Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Make it creamy. Fold the mayonnaise, crema or sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, remaining teaspoon of salt, and remaining ½ teaspoon black pepper into the corn mixture.
- Bring everything together. Fold in the Cotija cheese, cilantro, chili powder, cooled pasta, and green onion greens.
- Chill and serve. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Sprinkle with additional cilantro before serving and put the hot sauce on the table for anyone wanting a little more kick.
Around the Campfire
Do I really need six ears of fresh corn?
Nope.
Fresh summer corn is wonderful when it’s available, but frozen corn makes this much easier when we’re traveling. Six ears yield roughly 4 to 5 cups of kernels, so two 10-ounce bags of frozen corn make a convenient substitute.
There’s no need to thaw it first. Put the frozen corn directly into the hot skillet and expect it to need another minute or two before it begins to char.
That’s one less ingredient to prep inside a camper kitchen.
What exactly is crema?
Mexican crema is a cultured cream with a rich texture and pleasant tang, somewhere in the neighborhood of sour cream and crème fraîche.
At the grocery store, look for Mexican crema, crema agria, or Mexican sour cream. Table cream isn’t quite the same thing because it’s thinner and lacks the tang we’re after.
Can’t find crema?
Use sour cream and keep cooking.
Can I make Street Corn Pasta Salad ahead of time?
Absolutely, and that’s one of the reasons it works so well for campground cooking.
Making it several hours before dinner gives the salad time to chill and lets the flavors mingle. It also gets the cooking and cleanup out of the way before everyone starts gathering around the campsite for supper.
How long will leftovers keep?
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, Street Corn Pasta Salad will keep for up to four days.
Although if you’re serving it to a hungry campground crowd, four days may be a rather optimistic expectation.
Final Thoughts
Labor Day weekend doesn’t necessarily mean we’re finished camping.
Around here, we’re certainly hoping it doesn’t.
There are still campfires to sit around, roads to travel, places to discover, and plenty of meals waiting to be cooked outside before cold weather settles in for good.
But Labor Day does seem to remind us that another summer has gone by awfully fast.
Maybe that’s reason enough to gather everyone together one more time.
Fire up the grill. Put something good on it. Pull this Street Corn Pasta Salad from the refrigerator and set it on the picnic table.
Then forget about the calendar for a while.
Summer isn’t over until we’re ready to say it is.
Enjoy eatin’,
The Cooper Shortcut Camping Journey Trio 😊 PlusOne!
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