One of our favorite meals ever! 

We’re not vegetarian, but we have a lot of fun cooking vegetable-based meals for our family. We lucked out because our parents and 2/4 brothers eat everything we make, and the boys don’t complain about having meat-free dinners. For us, one of our favorite parts about cooking vegetarian is the creativity involved. Take a look at these tacos, for example!  They’re pure genius. Zucchini in tacos might sound a bit strange, but somehow it all just works. Perfectly spicy, a little bit creamy, and filled with crisp-tender veggies. There’s something about them that’s completely addictive, and if there’s anything that we’ve blogged about that you should try, we’d recommend these!

An awesome accompaniment to the tacos was roasted tomatillo salsa. We grabbed enough tomatillos at a farmer’s market to try two different recipes, and this one emerged as the favorite! Roasting the veggies makes the depth of flavor unbeatable. The recipe calls for cooking the veggies in a saucepan, but we’d like to try popping them under the broiler next time (minus the garlic) to see if we can streamline things a bit.

Zucchini, Corn, and Poblano Tacos

Recipe from More Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless via Annie’s Eats

Serves about 6

Ingredients:

4 poblano chiles

3 tbsp. olive oil (divided)

1 large yellow onion, in 1/4-inch thick slices

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

3/4 cup Mexican crema, sour cream, heavy cream, or even Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 lb. zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup corn kernels (fresh is best, but you can use frozen!)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Crumbled cotija cheese and sliced avocado, for serving

Warmed flour tortillas, for serving

Directions: 

Preheat the broiler, and set the rack about 6 inches away from the top of the oven. Line a baking sheet with foil and broil the poblanos, flipping occasionally, until blackened on all sides. Remove from the oven and wrap with foil for about 15 minutes. Once cool, peel the skin from the peppers and slice into cubes. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Cook the onion, stirring every so often, until browned but still crisp-tender. Add the garlic and oregano, and cook until fragrant. Add the poblanos and the crema/sour cream. Stir to combine.

In another skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini , and cook, stirring frequently until the zucchini is browned. Add the corn and cook until the corn is well-browned. Stir in the poblano-onion mixture, and then add the cilantro once removed from the heat.

Serve in tortillas with plenty of cotija and avocado slices. Enjoy!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Recipe from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless via Pink Parsley

Ingredients:

8 ounces tomatillos, husked and washed (about 4-5)

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 jalapeño

1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro

1/2 small white onion, chopped

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat a nonstick skillet, and add the tomatillos, jalapeño, and garlic in a single layer. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the tomatillos are well-browned and soft, and flip the veggies. Cook until the other side has browned as well.

Remove the tomatillos and garlic and put into the bowl of a food processor. Continue to cook the jalapeño until it’s blackened on all sides. Once it cools a bit, remove the blackened skin and removed ribs and seeds. Roughly chop  and add to the food processor.

Add the onions, cilantro, and lime juice to the food processor and pulse until a coarse puree. Add salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!