Recipe archive
Recipe archive
The Melting Pot
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1800s-present - New Mexican, Mexican American, and Pueblo borderlands cooks using squash, corn, and green chile
Calabacitas means little squash, and in New Mexico it names a fast summer vegetable dish of squash, corn, and green chile. It reflects Indigenous, Spanish borderlands, Mexican, and Mexican American foodways across the Southwest.
Difficulty
Easy
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
20 minutes
Total time
30 minutes
Servings
4 to 6 servings
Region
New Mexico and the Southwest
Era introduced
1800s-present
Introduced by
New Mexican, Mexican American, and Pueblo borderlands cooks using squash, corn, and green chile
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Calabacitas is one of the great practical vegetable dishes of the Southwest. Squash and corn bring the old field-crop foundation, while New Mexican green chile gives the dish its regional identity. Some versions are dry and sauteed; others include tomato, milk, or cheese. This archive version keeps the New Mexico pattern clear and lets cheese remain optional.
Drafted with New Mexico calabacitas context from New Mexico Tourism (https://www.newmexico.org/things-to-do/cuisine/recipes/calabacitas/), recipe context from Jessica Lynn Writes (https://jessicalynnwrites.com/2020/05/new-mexico-calabacitas-recipe/), and green chile variation context from Lemons and Basil (https://lemonsandbasil.com/new-mexico-green-chile-calabacitas/).
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