oil and heat until smoking Add the zucchini and cook, without stirring, until well charred on the first side, about minutes Toss the zucchini and char on a second side, about minutes longer Toss and char once more, then transfer to the bowl with the corn Fold in the basil, lemon juice, and olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper Serve immediately, sprinkled with Parmesan if desired MEXICAN STREET CORN SALAD Elotes, the on-the-cob version of Mexican street corn, is a staple on my balcony grill over the summer It’s about as easy and inexpensive a dish as you can think of, and there is nothing—really, nothing—that’ll get snatched up and eaten as fast as a hot plate of it I usually count on making at least an ear and a half per person To speed things up, I’ll keep a big bowl of the coating mixture—that’s garlicky mayonnaise, crumbled Cotija cheese (crumbled feta or grated Romano also works well), chopped cilantro, lime juice, and a pinch of chili powder—at the ready so that as soon as my corn comes off the grill, all nice, hot, and charred, it gets a dunk in the sauce, then a pass-off to a waiting mouth That first bite of hot charred corn, when the cheesy sauce inevitably gets smeared all over your cheeks, just tastes of summer to me Delicious, fat-smothered summer But there are times when a more demure approach must be taken When there are prim-and-proper aunts or brand-new ties involved, for instance For those occasions, I go for esquites, the spoon-ready version of elotes Rather then slathering the ears of corn with the sauce, you slice the kernels off after cooking and toss ... those occasions, I go for esquites, the spoon-ready version of elotes Rather then slathering the ears of corn with the sauce, you slice the kernels off after cooking and toss ... bowl of the coating mixture—that’s garlicky mayonnaise, crumbled Cotija cheese (crumbled feta or grated Romano also works well), chopped cilantro, lime juice, and a pinch of chili powder—at the ready... soon as my corn comes off the grill, all nice, hot, and charred, it gets a dunk in the sauce, then a pass-off to a waiting mouth That first bite of hot charred corn, when the cheesy sauce inevitably gets smeared all over your cheeks, just tastes of