The Other Side of the Tortilla

grilling

Calabacitas con elote

9 · · 3 Comments

This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Latina Bloggers Connect and the California Milk Advisory Board.  The recipe and opinions are my own.

Calabacitas con elote is a traditional Mexican side dish, typically baked in the oven in a casserole dish or olla de barro. But I’m giving it a summer makeover by cooking it in easy-to-make foil packets for the grill.

Calabacitas con elote is a traditional Mexican side dish, typically baked in the oven in a casserole dish or olla de barro. Give the dish a makeover by cooking it in easy-to-make foil packets for the grill. Recipe via theothersideofthetortilla.com

We’re spending tons of time outside with family and friends now that summer grilling season is here and this is a great dish to take to any parillada! This vegetarian dish is one of my favorites for serving as a quick dinner side dish as well as for taking to parrilladas (barbeques) that are typically full of meats but lacking enough veggies. If I’m making it for just the two of us, I refrigerate half the recipe and grill it later in the week so that it’s fresh off the grill at dinnertime.

Now that we live in California and have such a variety of fresh, local dairy, produce and meats available to us year-round thanks to the climate, I’ve been consciously trying to eat more locally (and by that, I mean seeking out locally grown produce at the farmers markets and other foods made in my new home state). California is the country’s leading producer of Hispanic dairy products, which are sold nationally, and is the nation’s second largest producer of cheese. In fact, California produces more than 25 kinds of Hispanic cheeses and many other dairy products. A Real California Milk seal means your dairy products are made from 100 percent California milk.

This is what the calabacitas should look like inside the foil packet when it’s done or almost done cooking:

calabacitas_con_elote_grill_packet_TOSOTT…

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Cebollitas asadas

214 · · 22 Comments

At any parrillada, cebollitas asadas are the one side dish you can count on one s being the same, no matter what kind of meats are chosen for the main dish. These grilled onions are marinated in Maggi and lime juice before being served.

Grilled knob onions with lime and salsa Maggi

I love grilling. The smell of the charcoal, the crackling sound of the fire roasting the food and the anticipation of what’s about to land on my plate. And whenever we grill in Mexico, my suegro (father-in-law) is the king of the barbecue.

Cebollitas asadas are so simple and easy to make (and almost totally impossible to mess up even if you’re not a grilling pro), it’s the single dish that most reminds me of a Sunday parrillada in Mexico.

RELATED RECIPE: Calabacitas con elote

You can add as much or as little lime juice and salsa Maggi, a Worcestershire-style seasoning sauce, or soy sauce as you like – it all depends on your taste buds. The Maggi sold in the U.S. doesn’t taste the same as salsa Maggi sold in Mexico, so I sometimes substitute low sodium soy sauce because we always keep some in the cabinet or the refrigerator.

Not only is this dish often served at barbecues and family gatherings, you can also often find them at little street food stands around Mexico. I especially love to pair this side dish with tacos de rib eye and my Mexican chimichurri-marinated flank steak.

RELATED RECIPE: Calabacitas rellenas

A note for my gluten-free friends: Salsa Maggi contains wheat gluten, wheat and wheat bran among its ingredients. A suitable alternative for you to be able to enjoy this dish is Kikkoman’s gluten-free soy sauce.

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Grilled knob onions with lime and salsa Maggi

Cebollitas

  • Author: Maura Wall Hernandez
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: Side dishes
  • Method: Grilling
  • Cuisine: Mexican
Print Recipe

Description

Cebollitas are a classic side dish staple at any Mexican barbecue.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 bunch of large spring onions (the kind with the little bulb on the end); these are sometimes called cebollitas cambray or knob onions
  • fresh-squeezed juice of 1/2 to 1 whole lime
  • Salsa Maggi (jugo sazonador) or soy sauce to taste

    Instructions

    1. Wash and grill the onions until they start to get grill marks and the bulbs look mostly cooked through. Leave the green stem tails on. (Some people don’t eat the tails; it’s up to you!)
    2. Once you’ve removed the onions from the grill, put them on a plate or in a bowl and squeeze the desired amount of lime juice over them.
    3. Add desired amount of Maggi or soy sauce over the top and let the onions sit in the juices for a few minutes. Pick up by the stems and eat the bulbs.

      Keywords: onions

      Calabacitas rellenas

      11 · · 2 Comments

      Calabacitas rellenas: Grilled Mexican green squash, stuffed with chilaca chiles, chorizo and queso fresco. Get the recipe from theothersideofthetortilla.com.

      One of the things I love most about the summer is grilling. It’s an opportunity to do all kinds of different things with meats and vegetables that I don’t get a chance to do during the rest of the year.

      During the spring and summer, my local Mexican markets have a wider variety of produce which means endless combinations for creative dinners at my house. I’ve recently been craving calabacita, a zucchini-like squash that has lighter green speckled skin, and is also one of José’s favorites. As I was strolling through the aisles, I was trying to decide what to stuff them with and as soon as I saw chilaca chiles, I knew that was what I wanted.

      They’re long and skinny with dark green skin, but you may recognize them better when they’re dried – known as chile pasilla. When fresh, they’re mild with a very subtle sweet flavor and you can char and peel them just the same way you do with a poblano.

      This dish is a variation of one that José grew up eating and when I served it for dinner over the weekend, the first thing he said after taking a bite was, “sabe a mi casa.” To me, that’s the ultimate compliment.

      TIPS: If you don’t have a grill or want to make this dish during other times of the year, you can also use a grill pan to cook the calabacitas. You can roast and sweat chilaca chiles in the same way you would with poblano chiles.

      If you’ve never roasted chiles before, check out my tutorial on how to roast poblano chiles.

      This dish can also be made vegetarian-friendly if you substitute soyrizo for the chorizo….

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