Elotes is decidedly not pinkies-in-the-air kind of food.

The grilled Mexican street corn on the cob slathered with mayo, rolled in crumbly cotija cheese, sprinkled with chili powder and chopped cilantro, and finished with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, is one of the most eagerly awaited noshes of summer.

It’s also a two-napkin affair. If not more.

“Tossed Elotes,” though, gives you everything you love about that Mexican dish — but off the cob to eat more neatly with a fork.

Not only that, there’s no mayo, just a generous amount of olive oil instead that forms the base of a voluptuous sauce that the kernels get tossed with.

This easy recipe is from “Asada” (Abrams, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook, which is all about the joys of Mexican-style grilling, was written by Bricia Lopez, whose family owns the James Beard Award-winning Oaxacan restaurant, Guelaguetza, in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. She’s also the founder of the blog, Mole and More; and co-founder of the “Super Mamas” podcast with her sister Paulina. The book was written with Javier Cabral, a Los Angeles food writer who is the editor-in-chief of the local news site, L.A. Taco and was the associate producer for Netflix’s “The Taco Chronicles.”

Read more