This recipe is family classic in México, it’s very versatile, as it can be a side dish, a main dish, or used as taco filling, can be made with pork meat or strictly vegetarian. Its ingredients vary from region to region in Mexico, MEZQUITE’s version is from central Mexico and it’s 100% authentic and vegetarian-friendly. I guess it could be a distant cousin of the French Ratatouille.. here it is:

  • Yield: around 5 portions as side dish and many tacos!
  • Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients (8)

  • 4 medium sized green zucchine (you can substitute 2 of them with yellow squash to add color!) Cut them lengthwise and then slice into 2mm thick “half moons”
  • 5 fresh plum tomatoes, peeled. Cut in half lengthwise and emove all the insides, cut the pulp into thick strips. To peel the tomatoes, cut a small “X” on the bottom of the tomatoes, dip them for 1 minute in boiling water, take them out and dip into ice water, peel.
  • 1 half of a big golden onion
  • 1 white corn, kernels only. This recipe calls for white corn, which is less sweet than the yellow kind, but you can substitute it if you can’t find it
  • 2 poblano chiles, stemmed. peeled, veined, seeded and cut into thin strips. In order to peel the poblanos, heat a griddle or skillet to medium high on your stove, place the poblanos on the skillet and “roast” until blackened all over, turning them every once in a while, when they are black all over, put them aside, let them cool for a few moments, and place inside a plastic bag, let them “sweat” for 20 minutes, and when you take them out, the skin will peel off easily. Proceed to stem,vein and seed, and cut into thin strips.
  • 1 and a half cups of hot vegetable stock
  • Salt to taste
  • Corn oil: 3 tablespoons. If you want to use extravirgin olive oil, choose one with a neutral flavor.

Instructions

  1. Chop the onion, not too finely, and sautee in the oil for 3 minutes
  2. Add the white corn kernels, and continue to sauteè for a few minutes more
  3. When the onion starts to become transparent add the tomato and the poblano strips and cook together for about 5 minutes
  4. add half a cup of vegetable stock and half teaspoon salt; cook for 3 minutes
  5. Finally add the sliced zucchine and the rest of the vegetable stock
  6. Cook on medium flame uncovered until the zucchine are tender and a little bit of the liquid has evaporated. Be careful not to overcook the zucchine, taste and add salt to taste.
  7. Note: I like my calabacitas quite thick, in this case I use 1 cup of vegetable stock total, and cook on high flame for the last couple of minutes so more liquid evaporates.