CHAR: Preheat a 12 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Remove and discard the corn husks and silks, then slice the corn from the cobs and discard those, too. Add 1 tablespoon / 15 ml of avocado oil to the skillet and heat it until it begins to shimmer. Slide the corn into the skillet and season with a little salt to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is bright in color and charred in spots, about 5 minutes or so.

BLOOM: Transfer the charred corn to a mixing bowl. Drizzle the corn with the remaining 2 tablespoons / 30 milliliters of avocado oil & 3 tablespoons / 45 milliliters of the lime juice, then sprinkle with the chile powder, smoked paprika, salt, cumin and pepper. Toss to coat and let marinate together.

BLEND: Scoop the dairy free yogurt and avocado into the bowl of a mini food processor or blender pitcher. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon / 15 milliliters of lime juice and about 1/4 cup of the cilantro. Blend until smooth, then add water a tablespoon at a time and blend again until thinned to a creamy, sauce-like consistency.

MIX: Add the avocado cream to the bowl with the marinated corn a little at a time, stirring to coat, until the consistency is the texture you prefer, see notes below. Roughly chop the remaining cilantro and add it to the Mexican street corn salad, along with the finely sliced green onions and mix until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as you prefer.

SERVE: Serve the Mexican street corn salad straight away, or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you like, serve with extra chile powder and the optional umami sprinkle in place of cotija, recipe below.

BLITZ: To make the dairy free cotija substitute, add all the ingredients to a mini food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are broken down and come together, but not starting to stick together. The finished sprinkles should still be dry enough to form a grated parmesan-like texture, so don’t over process.