Calabacitas con  Elote or  Mexican Zucchini  with Corn

Today it was an unusual cold day in Los Angeles; I wanted to eat something satisfying, warm and tasty, with homemade flavor.   However I didn’t want the calories that a “cozy meal” frequently has. So I took my calabacitas or Mexican zucchini as you find it in the store, and made this common and simple, but delightful plate.  I could easily say that if you have grown in Mexico there is a 90% possibility that you have eaten Calabacitas con Elote  as part of a regular lunch meal. Everybody has its recipe and there are many variations, but this is the recipe I have been using for years.

Ingredients

6 Medium Mexican Zucchinis

1 Cup Whole Corn Kernels (cooked, canned or frozen)

1 Large Tomato Diced

1 Medium White Onion Diced

3 Tablespoons of Tomato Sauce

1 Garlic Clove Chopped

3 Tablespoons of Mexican Cream or Sour Cream

¾ Cup of Water OR Vegetable OR Chicken Broth

Salt and Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Shredded Mozzarella or Chihuahua Cheese to Garnish (Optional)

In a large skillet warm the oil at medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add the onions and move around with a wooden spoon until they start to look tender and transparent.  Then add the garlic and the tomatoes. Keep moving until tomatoes become soft and smashed.  While the onions, garlic and tomatoes cook, you start to dice the zucchinis in big chunks. Put in the pieces of zucchini and mix with the wooden spoon.  Pour the water or chicken broth on top; add the tomato sauce and the cream. Mix again in order to incorporate all the ingredients.  Once the liquid in the mix starts to boil add the salt and pepper to season, then lower the heat and cover. Let it stay at low heat for about 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let it set the flavor for another 5 minutes. Then serve and garnish with cheese if you want. The cheese will melt into the mix making it creamier.

 *The beauty of this recipe is that can easily transform in a vegetarian plate if you change the chicken broth for vegetable broth and skip the cream and replace it by soy milk.