Elote Crunchwrap
Most of my recipes lean pretty unfussy, but I was in the mood to spend a little extra time in the kitchen yesterday. This one has a longer ingredient list than usual, but every single thing in it earns its spot and adds something to the final dish. It’s crispy, a little messy, creamy, spicy, and just really, REALLY perfect.
If you want to prep ahead, I’d make the elote spread and guacamole the night before and keep both in the fridge. You could also cook the chicken ahead of time. My favorite way to do it is to repurpose leftovers from something else. If I’m already grilling chicken thighs for dinner on a Sunday, I’ll throw on a few extra, cube them up, and use them for crunchwraps later in the week.
You can use whatever tortillas you like, but my favorite trick is grabbing tortillas from Chipotle for any burrito-style recipe. I wrap a damp paper towel over the tortilla and microwave it for about 30 seconds before assembling everything, and it makes them soft and workable every single time.
Ingredients
4 ears corn
Avocado oil
1/2 cup cilantro lime crema (or regular crema)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 red onion, finely diced
Handful chopped cilantro
Couple dashes Cholula hot sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup cotija cheese
Big pinch salt
1 tsp black pepper
Juice of 2 limes
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
Avocado oil
Large pinch salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chili lime seasoning (optional)
1 tsp black pepper
Large burrito tortillas
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Doritos
Smashed avocado seasoned with salt, pepper, and lime
Oaxaca cheese
Thinly sliced jalapeños
Equal parts crema and mayonnaise
Lime juice
Hot sauce
Chopped cilantro
Coat the corn lightly in avocado oil and grill over high heat until charred and cooked through. You can do this on a grill, open flame, or in a cast iron skillet. Let cool enough to handle, then cut the kernels off the cob and transfer to a bowl.
Add the crema, mayo, red onion, cilantro, hot sauce, chili powder, cotija, salt, pepper, and lime juice to the corn. Mix until creamy and fully combined. Set aside.
Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat with a little avocado oil. Add the cubed chicken and let it cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes to develop color.
Season the chicken with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, chili lime seasoning, and black pepper. Toss everything together and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and some pieces have crispy charred edges.
Take one tortilla and cut it into a smaller circle about 5–6 inches wide. Set aside.
Lay one full tortilla down and layer on the elote mixture, chicken, shredded lettuce, Doritos, smashed avocado, Oaxaca cheese, and jalapeños.
Place the smaller tortilla over the center of the fillings. Fold the outer edges of the large tortilla inward, pleating as you go until everything is enclosed. Sprinkle a little extra cheese around the folded edges to help seal it once toasted.
Press down firmly.
Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Place the crunchwrap pleated side down first and cook for 1–2 minutes until deeply golden and crisp. Flip and toast the second side until equally golden.
Mix together the crema, mayonnaise, lime juice, hot sauce, and chopped cilantro for the dipping sauce.
Serve the crunchwraps hot with the dipping sauce on the side.