Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Bring a large pasta pot of water to a boil over high heat, then salt the water liberally. Add ditalini pasta, stir, and cook according to package instructions. When the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse with cold water until pasta cools.

Heat a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid over high heat. Once skillet is heated, drizzle in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to coat. Add the corn kernels to the pan in one even layer. Salt and pepper to taste then immediately cover the skillet with a lid (when the kernels start to char and caramelize, they will begin to pop and splatter).

Cook on high heat undisturbed for 5 minutes, or until corn is nicely charred on the bottom and fully cooked through. Remove lid, reduce the heat to medium, and add in the 2 cloves of minced garlic. Stir to combine and cook for an additional minute or two. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Gather the minced and seeded jalapeño, finely chopped cilantro, thinly sliced scallions, and crumbled cotija cheese, reserving some of the cilantro, scallions, and cheese for garnish.

Place the sour cream, mayo, chipotle peppers, fresh lime juice, and lime zest in a blender and blend to combine. Add kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste, and set aside until ready for assembly.

In a large bowl (or the cooled pasta pot) mix the cooked and cooled pasta with the cooled charred corn, jalapeño, cilantro, scallion ,and crumbled cotija cheese. Pour over the chipotle lime dressing, (you may not need all of it****) and toss to combine. Taste and add additional kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper if needed.

Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the reserved cilantro, scallion, and cotija cheese. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to serve, reserving garnish in a separate container if making ahead.