corn , Cheese , cilantro , Lime
Best for: Street-corn lovers — all the elote flavors, sliceable and shareable.
Elote — charred corn with crema, cotija, chili, and lime — was already halfway to a pizza topping. Here the corn chars on the grates alongside the crust, the crema becomes the sauce, and cotija snows over the whole thing. A natural bridge between the grill’s Mexican shelf and pizza night. Note: the crema base is made with mayonnaise, which is why this pizza files as a side rather than with the vegetarian pizzas.
Grill: Pizza stone on a covered grill at 500–550°F; corn charred directly on the grates. Equipment: Pizza stone, grill with a lid, metal peel, tongs, sharp knife, small bowl.
Ingredients
Rest: 5 minutes. Total: 40 minutes.
Crema base
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine table salt
Pizza
- 3 ears corn, husked
- 1 lb pizza dough (homemade grilled pizza dough or store-bought), at room temperature
- 1 cup shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
- 1 teaspoon chili-lime seasoning (such as Tajín) or chili powder
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal or flour, for the peel
Directions
Set the pizza stone on the grate and heat the covered grill to 500–550°F for a full 30 minutes. Stir the crema base ingredients together and refrigerate.
Grill the corn over direct heat for 8–10 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until charred in spots all over. Cool slightly, then stand each ear upright and cut off the kernels.
Stretch the dough into a 12-inch round on a peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread half of the crema base over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Scatter the mozzarella, then the charred corn, in an even layer — a generous one; corn is the point.
Launch the pizza onto the stone and grill with the lid closed for 8–10 minutes, until the crust chars at the edges and the cheese bubbles.
Rest the pizza for 5 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining crema, snow the cotija over the top, dust with the chili-lime seasoning, scatter the cilantro, slice, and serve with lime wedges.
Grilling tip: Cut the kernels in wide planks, not single grains — they stay put on the slice and char at the edges instead of rolling off onto the stone.
