Summer squash enchiladas
For the past few years, my family has decided that Tex-Mex is the way to go on Christmas. We don’t get too fancy as my mom’s working at church, but there will be chili, guisada, guacamole, tortillas, salsas, beans, rice and Uncle Austin’s squash enchiladas.
Of course, it’s July and nowhere near Christmas. But if you have zucchini in your garden, you’re well aware of the bounty these plants produce—it can be staggering. And right about now, you’re probably begging friends and neighbors to help you eat some of this prolific vegetable.
Now, I don’t have a zucchini plant, but I did find myself with a surplus of summer squash. And after making a couple of casseroles and batches of pickles, I realized I’d have to come up with something else to use up my supply. Thanks to inspiration from my Uncle Austin, I made summer squash enchiladas.
His recipe is a secret—no one’s even allowed in the kitchen when he’s making them—so I had to improvise. But I do know that he uses fresh chiles in his sauce and this makes all the difference.
I wanted to keep the sauce light, so I used the not-too-fiery cascabel chile, which is a cute round chile that looks like an apple and makes a rattling sound when you shake it. And for the filling, I simply sautéed the squash with some onions, garlic and jalapeño chiles until they were warm and slightly tender but still with some bite.
My favorite thing about making enchiladas in the summer months is that you don’t have to keep them in the oven for too long. And while I usually prefer crisp, cool salads this time of year, sometimes you do get a craving for a dish a bit more substantial—and these squash enchiladas will fulfill that desire quite nicely.
Summer squash enchiladas
Ingredients
For the enchilada sauce:
- 10 dried cascabel chiles or 6 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 teaspoons of oil, divided
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 canned chipotle chile
- 1 15- oz. canned tomatoes, drained
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- Salt and black pepper to taste
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, stems and seeds removed, diced
- 2 zucchini and 2 yellow squash, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Cayenne
For the enchiladas:
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cheese, a mix of Monterey Jack and cheddar
Instructions
- To make the sauce, in a dry skillet heated on high, take the chiles and toast the chiles on each side for about 10 seconds or just until they start to puff. Leave the heat on and cover the chiles with water. When the water begins to boil and then turn off the heat and let chiles soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain the chiles and add to a blender.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a skillet and cook the onions for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Place onions and garlic into a blender. Add the canned chipotle chile, the tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin, oregano and blend until smooth.
- In a pot, heat 1 teaspoon of oil on low heat, pour in the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and black pepper to taste and adjust other seasonings as needed.
- To make the filling, in a large skillet, heat up the oil on medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeños and cook for a minute. Add the diced zucchini and yellow squash, cilantro, cumin and sauté for 10 minutes. Add salt, black pepper, and cayenne to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Wrap the tortillas in foil and place in the oven for 5 minutes while the oven is preheating.
- Remove tortillas from oven, open the foil (be careful as there may be hot steam), take a tortilla and with tongs dip it into the sauce. Shake off most of the sauce, but make sure that it’s moist enough to be pliable. Lay the tortilla on a plate or clean cooking surface, add a spoonful of the filling down the center of it and then roll the tortilla. Place rolled enchilada in greased baking dish and repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Pour sauce over enchiladas and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbling. Serve topped with avocado wedges and cotija cheese.
My husband made this for me last night and they are fabulous. I've spent so much time on this site in the past few weeks drooling over nearly every dish. We've also made the Ranch Style Beans and they were the best beans I've made in a long while. Can't wait for your book to come out.
Hi. Love your blog. When I was growing up, once my brothers and I got to be about adolescent age, we started having tacos on Christmas eve. At that age, that was when we opened our presents too. The habit stuck. We always did it thereafter. On xmas day itself, it was a trip to grandma's house for all the traditional things anyway.
I made this last night here in Alaska. This El Paso girl went against her best instincts and didn't dip the tortillas in hot oil before rolling the filling. (Which was delicious!) Sure enough, I was met with a mushy mess. I will be trying this again, though.
Carla in Nikiski, Alaska
Renee–Yay! So happy your husband loved them!
Trish–If you don't have fresh chiles available, I'd make the sauce with 1/4 cup of chili powder.
Miscanthis213–They will be good, I hope!
Tasty Eats at Home–Hope you do!
Anne–Excellent news–hope y'all enjoy them!
Biz319–You're very welcome!
Dina–Hurrah! So happy y'all enjoyed them!
Bliss Doubt–It's a fine tradition, I think.
Carla–So sorry they turned out mushy for you. I tend to not dip in hot oil to reduce the fat, but always do what works best for you!
i also live in NYC, and i have to say that i'm completely jealous of those who have the "too much zucchini" problem. it's one of my favorite veggies, and i must make this recipe. thanks!