Calabacitas

A white girl’s twist on a New Mexican staple

New Mexican food is a beautiful mashup of Native American, Spanish, and Mexican influences. Of course, at the center of it all is the chile. This is a simple dish that comes in handy in the summer peak when gardeners are drowning in zucchini.

Calabacita means “little squash” in Spanish. In the New Mexican twist on this dish, green chiles add a smoky flavor to summer staples like zucchini, squash, and sweet corn.

Here’s how I like to put it together.

Dice your zucchini, onion, and a few cloves of garlic. Start by sautéing your garlic and onion in some olive oil with salt and pepper.

Once the onions are translucent, add your green chiles and let the flavors get to know each other for a few minutes.

Add in your diced zucchini and sweet corn and let everything cook down on low heat for about 15 minutes. The zucchini will start to be translucent but don’t let it get too mushy (unless that’s your thing!) The whole process looks like this:

And that’s calabacitas! Usually, people add some shredded cheese on top or just serve it as a simple side dish. It goes great in tacos, burritos, with eggs, or just over rice. But I like to serve it like this:

Put a small handful of mozzarella right on the surface of a non-stick pan or a skillet. Stick your tortilla on top and wait a couple minutes. Ever-so-carefully flip that baby over so the cheese is melty underneath but crispy on top. Let the bottom of your tortilla crisp up.

Plate your quesadillas and spoon some calabacitas right on top.

Serve with a margarita if you’re looking to get into some trouble!