In a large pot, cook the rotini pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside to allow the pasta to cool off a little before adding the rest of the pasta salad ingredients.

To make the dressing, add to a small bowl the mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh lime juice, salt, smoked paprika, chili powder, ground cumin, black pepper, and chipotle chile powder and whisk until smooth and fully combined. Set aside.

Place a large, heavy-duty skillet (cast iron works great) over high heat on the stovetop. Once the skillet is really hot, add the olive oil, sweet yellow corn, 1 cup of green onions, and diced jalapeno pepper. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the corn kernels get a nice brown “blister” to them. The best way to do this is to leave the corn kernels undisturbed in the pan so that they can sear, only stirring a couple of times as needed to prevent burning the corn and other ingredients. Remove from the heat.

To a large mixing bowl, add the cooked and cooled rotini pasta, the corn mixture, the reserved dressing, the remaining ¼ cup chopped green onions, two tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro, and all of the crumbled cotija cheese (reserve ¼ cup of the cheese crumbles to use as garnish). Stir to combine all the Mexican street corn pasta salad ingredients.

Transfer the pasta salad to a large serving bowl and garnish with the ¼ cup reserved cotija cheese crumbles and the remaining one tablespoon of fresh chopped cilantro before serving.