Recipe Courtesy of Matthew Howard, Executive Chef at Malo Restaurant in Des Moines
Ingredients:
1 lb. easy melting cheese (Queso Seguro or Velveeta are good options)
4 cups Iowa Choice Harvest frozen sweet corn
1 cup water
1 lime, juice and zest
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil
3 tbsp. crumbled Cotija Cheese (queso fresco is a suitable alternative)
Directions:
In a food processor, puree frozen corn with water until completely smooth.
In a small pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and sweat garlic until aromatic and translucent.
Add pureed corn and cook over medium heat while stirring constantly. Allow the mixture to simmer and reduce slowly to a creamy consistency.
Once the consistency has reached a light pudding texture, combine with salt, lime juice, and lime zest in a blender and puree smooth to eliminate any possible lumps.
Melt the cheese over low heat until smooth.
Fold in the corn sauce.
Pour into a heat resistant serving bowl, sprinkle with crumbled Cotija and broil on high until Cotija cheese is a roasted, dark golden brown.
Serve with tortilla chips.
The corn sauce itself can be used chilled to dress salads or as a dip by itself for vegetables. At the restaurant we serve our crab cakes with a chipotle tartar sauce and the corn sauce.