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.
Such a great recipe. And I had almost everything (except the chiles) in my pantry/fridge. I just added more chipotle chiles (seeded some of them as they can get hot!) and it was really amazing! I can't wait to try with the other chiles.
Thanks for all of the great tex mex recipes. As a former Texan in DC, I am so glad to have happened upon this blog!
Amy–You hardly notice it at all!
Screwed Up Texan–Mock apple pie with zucchini? I've never heard of that!
Paula–Enjoy!
DessertForTwo–Your cowboy sure will appreciate these! And thank you!
Kristin–No, cooking them first got rid of most of the liquid, I found.
Gabriela–Love them cold! One of my favorite breakfasts!
Austin–Hey, layers are good–they all taste the same in the end!
Renee–I tend to eat less meat when it's hot as well.
Monday Through Friday–Yes, it's hearty enough to appeal to both meat eaters and vegetarians alike.
Lisa–I hear you about the garden!
Marcy–Love bean and cheese burritos!
Katie–Yep, he might not even notice it's there!
MM Martinez–It's been too long!
Maureen–Hope you enjoy it!
Koci–It's a great vegetarian option!
Bill G–I wonder why they don't plant it as it grows in the same zone as zucchini.
Homegrown Countrygirl–Thanks, it's fun writing it!
KRobertson–That does sound delicious!
Anon–I live in the North! But sure, if you don't have a Mexican grocer where you live, you should be able to find anchos at most grocery stores. I'd substitute them.
Brooke–Hooray! So happy you enjoyed it! I'll have to try it with chipotles next time.
I wouldn't normally do veg dishes like this , but since you and Uncle Austin think it is worthwhile, I'll give it a shot. I haven't been disappointed yet.
I got a bucket of squash from the garden and three words: nom nom nom. Thanks for the idea! I was about to just freeze alot of them until I thought of something.
That sounds pretty good – quite a difference from the traditional heavy cheese and meat enchiladas. Probably better for the waistline as well.