Calabacitas con Elote y Rajas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Comal or open gas flame for roasting chile poblano
• •Wide clay cazuela or 12-inch heavy skillet
• •Wooden spoon
• •Clean kitchen towel for rubbing poblano skins

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the poblanos

   Place the chile poblano directly over a gas flame or on a hot comal. Turn until the skins blister and blacken in patches. Put them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes so the skins loosen. Peel with your fingers, not under running water. Water steals flavor. Remove stems and seeds, then cut the flesh into thin rajas.

   Poblano is not there to make the dish violently hot. It gives green depth, a little bitterness, and roasted sweetness. Not all Mexican food is built to burn your mouth.
2. 2

   Start the sofrito

   Melt the manteca in a wide cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes, until it turns translucent and smells sweet. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Do not brown the garlic. Bitter garlic ruins a gentle vegetable dish.

3. 3

   Cook the tomato

   Add the chopped jitomate and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until it collapses and the liquid thickens into a loose red base. You are not making salsa. You are building the bottom of the dish, the same way the women in the fondas build flavor before the vegetables go in.

4. 4

   Add corn and squash

   Stir in the corn kernels, calabacitas, salt, and black pepper. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, letting the squash take the fat and tomato. The pieces should stay distinct. If you cover the pan too early, the squash throws water and turns into baby food. No me vengas con atajos.

5. 5

   Fold in rajas

   Add the poblano rajas and epazote sprigs. Stir gently, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the squash is tender but not collapsing and the corn still has a little snap under your teeth. The epazote should perfume the pan, not dominate it.

6. 6

   Finish the cazuela

   Remove the epazote stems. Taste for salt. Fold in half the queso fresco and let it soften into the vegetables for one minute. Spoon the rest over the top. If using crema, drizzle it lightly at the table, not enough to drown the rajas. Serve warm with corn tortillas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy small Mexican gray squash if you can find them. They should feel firm and heavy, with skin that looks alive, not wrinkled. Large zucchini is a compromise, not an upgrade, and it throws more water.
• •Roast the poblano yourself. Canned rajas taste flat and sour from the liquid in the can. The roasted chile is the spine of the dish.
• •Fresh corn is best when the kernels are tight and milky. If the corn at the market looks tired, use good frozen corn before you use old corn. Mexican grandmothers cook what the market is selling today.
• •Epazote is not optional if you want the central highland flavor. Look in Mexican markets near the fresh herbs. Use a light hand. Too much epazote tastes medicinal.
• •If you serve this with flour tortillas because that is what you have, fine, you will eat dinner. But the central highland table wants corn tortillas. Flour tortillas are a northern tradition. Know the difference.

Advance Preparation

• •The poblano rajas can be roasted, peeled, and sliced one day ahead. Keep them covered in the refrigerator with any juices they release.
• •Cut the squash shortly before cooking. If salted too early, it releases water and softens before it reaches the cazuela.
• •Leftovers keep refrigerated for three days. Reheat gently in a skillet, not a microwave, so the squash does not collapse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)