Here’s something a little different. Squash Tacos. Did I simply wake up one morning with the idea of transforming squash into tiny fritters as a filling for soft tacos? Not exactly. Let me provide some context for this recipe…
A friend of mine called me and said she had a large organic acorn squash grown by a relative of hers. She said it was too big for her to eat herself so she would cut it in half and give me the rest. She brought it over and when I saw it I thought, “Wow!” Large was quite the understatement. The thing was GINORMOUS!! The thing almost took up half of my kitchen table! (And keep in mind, I only had HALF of it!) I’ve provided a picture of it in case you don’t believe me. But you would have believed me anyway, right?
Here it is sitting next to a normal acorn squash. The thing’s like King Kong! And kind of a strange looking acorn squash at that…like some kind of mutant squash. But it tasted AMAZING! The flesh was super flavorful and sweet.
So here I had this gigantic mutant squash that I had to figure out how to use. I immediately set to work making a sweet acorn squash tea bread and a creamy squash soup. After making two things with this monster squash I still had half of it left. So the next day I made some squash burgers…and, you got it, STILL had some left! Well, I happened to be craving something Mexican. I looked at the leftover squash patties I had made and envisioned some mini versions of it made with traditional Mexican ingredients, including smokey chipotle chilies. I pictured them sizzling in hot oil, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and making a great filling for a vegetarian taco. So I set to work again. And finally, FINALLY, the rest of the squash was used! Here was the result of this final venture:
- 2 cups grated acorn or butternut squash
- ¼ cup grated white onion
- 1 egg
- ½ cup cheddar cheese
- 1 jalapeno chili, seeded and diced
- 1 chipotle chile en adobo sauce, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano (preferably Mexican)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup flour
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 8 in. flour tortillas
- Taco toppings: Diced tomatoes, avocados, salsa, crumbled queso con fresco, sour cream, and chopped green onions.
- Combine all ingredients. Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet on medium-high. Once the oil is hot enough that water drop of water sizzles when it hits the pan, form small fritters, about an inch in diameter, between your palms. The fritters will be soft and they won’t hold together well in your palms, but they will firm up once they start cooking. Fry on both sides until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side side.
- Place the chipotle squash fritters in warmed soft taco shells with the taco toppings. Serve immediately.
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