My Mom's Colache Recipe

Colache is a comfort food in our family. It’s what you do when you have a calabacita (zucchini or other summer squash) that’s really big, or your harvest is just so abundant…in short, it’s a great way to use up your summer squash. My mom just moved in with us and my kids are so lucky to have their abuelita around to play, teach and make yummy food. I am so lucky that she’s embracing retirement and spending her time with us. For the first time in my almost forty (!) years, I am getting her to write down some of her recipes for me. Here’s the first:

3 medium zucchini or other summer squash (or 4 smaller ones, or one HUGE one…), grated

1 tomato, chopped

1/2 - 1 cup chopped onion

1 chile (anaheim, or bell pepper if you don’t want it to be spicy), finely chopped (you can also skip the chile entirely to make it more kid-friendly!)

4 tbs olive oil

2 garlic cloves

2 cups corn (optional)

1 cup queso fresco, crumbled or grated (optional)

1 cup water

2 cubes veggie bouillon

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil for a couple of minutes.

Add tomato and chile and saute for a couple more minutes

Add water, bouillon cubes, corn and grated zucchini or other summer squash and cook over low medium-low heat for a few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and top with queso fresco, if you like.

Cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Zucchini (a.k.a. Calabacita) at its Simplest and Most Exquisite

So, every now and then I feel the need to give a shout out to the person who brought a certain dish into my life. Ok, quite often, I feel this. All of my favorite foods have a person tied to them, so many come from moments of awe that something so simple could taste so revolutionarily delicious and nourishing—Rich invented the avocado tacos for me, Marta served up the best steamed broccoli…and this zucchini recipe comes with a big thank you to Ramon, aka Moncho. I am sure he will smile proudly and think I’m a little crazy for crediting him for this. He’s a big meat eater and is always a little stressed, I think, when he invites us over dinner and feels the need to create veggie options. But I do think he is one of my prime examples that it’s the love that goes into the food that makes it amazing. And sometimes, the simpler the dish, the more love it can freely gush out at you. So, here is the simplest and most exquisite calabacita recipe:

Ingredients:

Zucchini

Salt

Pepper (or lemon pepper)

Olive oil

Instructions:

Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise.

In a pan (cast iron is best!) pour a little olive oil and spread it around.

Place the zucchini open face down on the pan.

Cover the pan and let cook for a few minutes.

Flip the zucchini over so the open face is up and add salt and pepper (or lemon-pepper) once the open face is slightly charred and the zucchini is nearly cooked. It’s up to you how well-cooked you like it. If you are happy with the level of crisp on the open face, but would like it to soften up a bit more, add little water after flipping it and cover to cook further. The more you cook it, the softer the zucchini will get. Of course, zucchini can be eaten raw, so there’s not minimum cook time.

That’s it! Serve immediately, alone or as a side. I often make this a quick lunch by serving it with refried beans.

Eggplant and Zucchini Fries

Check out this article Do You Really Need to Salt Eggplant and other recipe ideas for this strange and nutritious fruit.

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants (cut into 1 inch slices, then cut each slice into 1 inch sticks)

1 large, two medium or three small zucchinis (cut into 1 inch thick sticks)

3 eggs

1 cup almond flour

1 cup corn meal or bread crumbs

1 cup grated parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast

2 tsp salt

spices of your choice (I like 1 tsp each oregano or italian seasoning mix, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper)

olive oil

Instructions:

In a small bowl, blend the first five dry ingredients (including the spices)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a fork

then add the eggplant and zucchini sticks and mix with the egg.

Sprinkle with the dry mixture until well coated

Place on a tray lined with parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.

Don’t even take out the sauce if you want kids to love them as is… or dip in a marinara or barbecue sauce as a special treat.