Active Time

　　40 minutes

　　Total Time

　　1 hour 20 minutes

　　If you can’t eat just one tortilla chip, this is the salsa of your dreams. It takes the jagged crunchiness of totopos and transforms them into a nutty, saucy topping that instantly adds another dimension of savoriness to anything it’s spooned over. Think of it as the more casual cousin of salsa macha, drizzled over a cup of Mexican-style street corn that’s best eaten while standing up. In this recipe, the corn is sliced into wide sheets, drizzled with a tangy crema and mayo mixture, and topped with the crunchy salsa.

　　

Ingredients

8 Servings

　　

Esquites

Kosher salt

　　8 ears of corn, husked

　　½ cup crema mexicana or crème fraîche

　　¼ cup mayonnaise

　　2 oz. Cotija cheese, crumbled

　　Juice of 4 key limes or 1 lime

　　

Salsa and assembly

4 cups tortilla chips (about 4 oz.)

　　8 large guajillo chiles (about 2½ oz.)

　　2 dried chiles de árbol

　　1¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil

　　½ cup salted dry-roasted peanuts

　　¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

　　1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more

　　

Esquites

Step 1

Bring a large stockpot of generously salted water to a boil. Place corn in pot, cover with a heavy plate to keep corn submerged, and remove pot from heat. Let corn sit until kernels are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and transfer corn to a large bowl; let cool.

　　

Step 2

Stir crema, mayonnaise, and 2 Tbsp. water in a medium bowl to combine, then mix in Cotija; season with salt. Cover and chill crema mixture until ready to serve.

　　

Salsa and assembly

Step 3

Crush tortilla chips very coarsely in a large resealable plastic bag. Set aside.

　　

Step 4

Remove stems from guajillo and árbol chiles. Cut open with kitchen shears and scrape out most of the seeds and strings with your hands (wear disposable food-grade gloves if you have them). Break chiles into about ¼" pieces.

　　

Step 5

Heat oil over low in a medium saucepan. Drop in a peanut and when oil starts bubbling gently around it, carefully add remaining peanuts. Cook, stirring often, until golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add chiles and cook, stirring, until chiles starting to darken and puff, about 1 minute. Let cool 10 minutes.

　　

Step 6

Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until peanuts and chiles are finely ground, about 2 minutes. Add sesame seeds, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton salt, and reserved tortilla chips. Pulse 3 times, just to combine (you want to preserve texture of sesame seeds and chips). Transfer salsa to a medium bowl and let cool. (The chile-peanut mixture will sink to the bottom while the chips stay afloat.)

　　

Step 7

Cut corn in half crosswise and stand upright. Slice away kernels in wide sheets with a sharp knife, using a gentle sawing motion. Transfer corn to a large platter. Drizzle 2 Tbsp. lime juice over and sprinkle with salt. Spoon reserved crema mixture on top, then spoon ½ cup salsa over, making sure to dig out some chile-peanut mixture along with some chips; reserve remaining salsa for another use. Drizzle remaining lime juice over. Taste and season with more salt if needed.

　　  

　　Do ahead: Salsa (without chips) can be made 1 month ahead. Cover and chill. Add chips up to 1 day ahead.