Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Zucchini Tacos

I tried a recipe from my Recipes from America's Small Farms: Fresh Ideas for the Season's Bounty cookbook for zucchini tacos on Monday night. I continue to harvest more zucchini than I know what to do with (almost... I have frozen a lot of it that I can't use fresh), so I'm looking for all sorts of ways to use it up. These sounded very interesting when I read through the recipe in the cookbook, so I figured we should try them. I'm so glad we did! We all loved them! Even Kevin said he thought they were really, really good... he did say it'd be nice to have some chicken in them for some meat, but thought they were great just as they were, too. He didn't even complain once about taking the leftovers for lunch the next day. They were so good! They were nice and sweet and creamy and so fresh-tasting! This is a definite keeper for us! I'll update with a picture once I get it off my camera.

Mexican-Style Zucchini Tacos

1 1/2 Tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped OR 2/3 of a 28oz can of whole tomatoes, drained (I just used a can of organic fire-roasted crushed tomatoes)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large fresh poblano peppers (I just used a bell pepper since that's what I had)
Kernels from 1 large ear of fresh corn
4 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 Tablespoons cilantro
2/3 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream (I used heavy cream)
Salt
1/2 cup mexican queso fresco (I just used shredded cheddar since that's what I had)
fresh, warm tortillas

Preparing the flavoring base: Measure the oil into a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until richly browned, about 8 minutes. While the onion is cooking, coarsely puree the tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Add the garlic to the browned onion, cook for 1 minute, stirring. Then add the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Roasting the peppers: Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, turning regularly until the skin is blistered and blackened on all sides. Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 5 minutes. Rub off the blackened skins, then pull out the stems and seed pods. Rinse briefly to remove the stray seeds and bits of skin. Slice into 1/4 inch strips. (I skipped the roasting step and just added my peppers to the skillet when I added the garlic. I'll try the roasting next time, but I just needed to cut some corners to save a little time.)

Finishing the dish: Uncover the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir in the peppers, corn, zucchini, cilantro, and cream. Cook, stirring frequently, until the zucchini is crisp-tender and the liquid has thickened enough to coat the veggies nicely, about 8 minutes. Taste and season with salt. Serve in a decorative bowl, sprinkle with cheese, and pass the tortillas separately for do-it-yourself tacos.

1 comment:

kat said...

Another good use of zucchini