Calabacitas Soup

Step 1

Give the tomatoes a good rinse and roast them in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes or so. I usually de-stem them knowing that any juices leftover in the roasting pan will go in the blender.

Step 2

Saute a roughly chopped onion and 3 whole, peeled garlic cloves in a glug of oil over medium heat.  When the onion starts to turn brown (approx. 6-8 minutes) add the mixture to a blender or food processor along with the roasted tomatoes and 1/4 or 1/2 of the jalapeno. Combine well and taste for heat, adding more jalapeno for more heat. I like this dish best with only mild heat so I used only 1/2 of the jalapeno.

Step 3

Finely chop 1/2 onion and get it cooking in some oil over medium heat.

Step 4

As the onion cooks you can prep the zucchini. Give the zucchinis a good rinse and cut them up into 1/4" sized pieces -- be sure to cut off the ends and discard.

Step 5

When the onion starts to brown add two minced garlic cloves and cook for 30-60 seconds.  Add the chopped zucchini to the onion-garlic mixture in the pan, along with 1 teaspoon salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano. Stir well and let it saute briefly.

Step 6

Add the tomato mixture from the blender to the pan. I usually let this cook for a couple minutes, then adding in 5 cups of stock along with 2 cups of corn. Note: I used a single can of corn, drained and rinsed, but if using fresh corn you can add it in when you add the zucchini.

Step 7

Bring this up to a simmer and take a final taste for seasoning. I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch, so that is close to 1.5 teaspoons total for this batch, but keep in mind this will vary based on which stock you're using.

Step 8

Serve immediately with your choice of fixings. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.