Mexican Butternut Squash Soupcaldo De Calabaza Recipes

CALABACITAS

Steps:

• Give the tomatoes a good rinse and let them roast in a 400F oven for 20 minutes or until you need them. I usually de-stem the tomatoes knowing that any juices leftover in the roasting pan will be used.
• Finely chop a small onion and get it cooking in some oil over medium heat. Let it cook until it's starting to brown, approx. 7-10 minutes. Add three minced garlic cloves and cook for 30-60 seconds.
• Take a couple spoonfuls of the onion-garlic mixture from the pan and add it to the blender -- this will eventually be combined with the roasted tomatoes.
• Give the zucchinis a good rinse and cut them up into 1/4" sized pieces -- be sure to cut off the ends of the zucchinis and discard. Add the chopped zucchini to the onion-garlic mixture in the pan, along with 3/4 teaspoon salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano. Stir well and let it saute for a couple minutes as you put the tomato mixture together.
• Rinse the jalapeno and chop it up into quarters, discarding the stem. Add the roasted tomatoes to the blender along with 1/4 of the jalapeno. (There should also be a couple spoonfuls of the onion-garlic mixture in the blender.) Combine well and take a taste. Add additional slivers of the jalapeno until the heat tastes right to you. I used a larger jalapeno for this batch and only needed about half of it.
• Add the tomato mixture back to the saucepan and let the zucchini simmer in it for a couple more minutes or until the zucchini is tender but still a little firm -- this batch cooked for a total of 7-8 minutes. If using canned corn you can add it in now as it doesn't need much time to heat up. If using fresh corn kernels you can add them in when you add the zucchini. (I usually drain and rinse canned corn but this is optional.)
• Take a final taste for seasoning. I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch.
• Serve immediately with your choice of garnish. Cotija cheese and freshly chopped cilantro are good options.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge where they will keep for a few days.

MEXICAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Place the diced butternut squash, onion, and poblano pepper in a 9 x 13" baking dish and toss with the olive oil. Sprinkle with cumin, salt, and pepper, and mix. Roast vegetables in the oven for about 40 to 45 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove from oven then lower temperature to 350°F.
• Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large bowl, add 1 cup salsa, corn, green chiles, and chopped cilantro. Using the same baking dish, spread ½ cup salsa along the bottom of the baking pan, top with a layer of half of the tortillas. Top the tortillas with ½ of the roasted vegetable mixture. Top with remaining tortillas remaining ½ cup salsa, remaining veggies, and top with shredded cheese.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
• Allow to cool for five minutes before serving. Garnish with avocado or sour cream.

CALABACITA CON PUERCO (PORK WITH SQUASH)

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook pork chops until no longer pink in the center, about 4 minutes per side. Cool until easily handled, about 5 minutes. Cut the pork into bite-sized cubes.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the saucepan. Add cubed pork, calabaza squash, corn, onion, tomatoes, and garlic and cook until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour in chicken stock and simmer, covered, until flavors are combined, about 2 hours. Stir occasionally and check periodically to see if more chicken stock is needed.

CALABAZA SOUP: SOPA DE CALABAZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the calabaza. Season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven until tender, about 1/2 hour.
• In a large stockpot, heat 1/4 cup olive oil and saute onions, green pepper, red pepper, and garlic. Cook for about 8 minutes or until caramelized. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 more minutes.
• Deglaze with white wine. Add chicken stock and heavy cream and the roasted calabaza. Add the thyme. Bring to a boil. Simmer about 20 minutes. Puree all the ingredients. Strain the soup and adjust the seasonings. Garnish with vanilla-flavored whipped cream, if desired.

ROASTED CALABAZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Seed and peel calabaza, then cut into 3/4-inch-wide pieces (about 3 inches long).
• Toss with oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper, then divide between 2 large shallow heavy baking pans, spreading in 1 layer.
• Roast calabaza, switching position of pans and turning calabaza over halfway through cooking, until tender and starting to caramelize, 35 to 45 minutes.

CREMA DE CALABAZA (CREAMY SQUASH SOUP)

Steps:

• Boil 1 L water in a saucepan.
• Cut squash into cubes.
• Cut off top and bottom of carrots, peel them and cut them into 1/3-inch-thick disks.
• Clean the leak, reserve a part of it for garnish and slice the rest.
• Peel the potato and cut into stew chunks.
• Add vegetables to saucepan, add 2 tbsp oil and 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste. Cover and let cook 25 minutes on medium heat.
• Remove vegetables from heat. Blend with hand blender until smooth and creamy. Before serving in bowls, garnish surface with fine strips of leek.