August is finally here! I love this time of year because the market stalls are brimming with fresh produce, from the last of the strawberries to peaches, blueberries, apples, knob onions, garlic, beautiful green, purple and yellow beans, all kinds of peppers (did I tell you about my pepper garden yet?), beautiful plump tomatoes of all sizes, bright golden corn, cucumbers, zucchini, etc. Walking through markets has always been one of my favourite activities!
If you go to any market stall this time of year, you will find everything you need to make the perfect salsa, the perfect fruit cobbler or the perfect Calabacitas a la Mexicana, which is our dish for today. Whenever you see anything called “a la Mexicana” it means it will have a sauté of onions, chiles and tomatoes, which incidentally are the colours of our Mexican flag, hence the name!
I love things cooked a la Mexicana, and very often you will see eggs cooked this way for breakfast (they’re delicious by the way!), but there are many other ingredients you can cook like this: beans, cactus paddles, potatoes, mussels, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork steak, you name it! Once you know the technique, you can apply it to many other things and you can make your own dish a la Mexicana.
I think for many Mexican cooks, this is the default way of making things. If I’m uninspired, I reach for this technique and I can make a LOT of things, so make this part of your arsenal! All you need are ripe tomatoes, white onions (in Mexico we prefer to cook with white Spanish onions, but if all you have is red or yellow, it is perfectly fine - just do not substitute green onion, that is a different flavour profile), some sort of spicy chiles - Serranos would be my choice, but where I am in Canada they are hard to find, so my next choice is Jalapeños. Use whatever you have available, but the chiles should pack some punch. The last ingredient, and this is optional, is cilantro. In essence, you will be making your own cooked salsa and then whatever you add to it will be stewed in it. That’s it! Brilliant, isn’t it?
So let’s get down to the recipe. It is a very easy technique, and you can vary quantities as you wish, adding more tomato if you want it saucier, or more corn if you love corn. You can omit the corn if you don’t have it and you can even cook in some chorizo at the beginning with the onion (that is another delicious variation!). The most important thing is not to overcook the zucchini - you want it to be tender, but still retain its shape. I love cilantro, but if you don’t, then omit it.
I hope you make this recipe and learn the “a la Mexicana” technique. Let me know what you create!
Calabacitas a la Mexicana
Zucchini, Mexican Style
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced (about 2/3 cup)
1 Serrano or Jalapeño chile, minced (seeded if you want less heat)
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 large ripe tomato, diced (about 1 cup)
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/2” pieces
1 large ear of corn, kernels cut off with a knife
1/4 cup water or broth
Salt to taste
2-4 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
In medium sauté pan, heat oil and cook onion and chiles over medium high heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add tomato and cook until tomatoes break down and become saucy. Add zucchini and corn and stir well.
Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until zucchini is tender but still firm. Season with salt to taste and stir in cilantro at the last minute.
Serve warm.
Serves 4.