Easy Calabacitas Soup

This easy Calabacitas Soup is a combo of three of my favorite creations on the site:

Souper Broth -- a tomato-onion-garlic broth that's wildly satisfying and acts as the base for Albondigas Soup and Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Better Vegetable Stock -- a homemade veggie stock that's easy to make and has a bump in flavor from some nutritional yeast.  

Calabacitas -- a delightful zucchini and corn dish that has quickly become one of the most viewed recipes on the site. 

But if you want to make this soup NOW, then don't worry about making your own veggie stock -- just keep it in mind for the future as it will give you a major upgrade in flavor compared to store-bought stock. 

The key to the Souper Broth is to roast the tomatoes so we'll start with that. 

They'll need about 20 minutes in the oven (400F) but I frequently just grab them when I need them. 

A quick saute of the onion and garlic really adds some depth to the broth, so we'll give a roughly chopped onion and 3 whole, peeled garlic cloves a few minutes in some oil over medium heat. 

Once the onion is starting to brown we'll add it to a blender where it will wait patiently for the roasted tomatoes. 

We'll also add a sliver of jalapeno. 

Blend and take a taste. 

For more heat simply add more jalapeno.  I like this dish best when it has mild heat so I only used half of a jalapeno.       

When you combine this tomato-onion-garlic mixture with some high-quality stock then you've officially got Souper Broth on your hands!  It could easily be eaten on its own and it will give you a great foundation for your homemade soups.

    

For the Calabacitas we'll start by cooking some finely chopped onion over medium heat. 

Once the onion is starting to brown we'll add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for 30-60 seconds.  Then we'll add:

1.5 lbs. chopped zucchini (approx. 2 larger zucchinis)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano  What is Mexican oregano?

Briefly cook and then add the tomato mixture from the blender. 

I usually let this cook a couple minutes, and then add 5 cups of stock and 2 cups corn. 

I used canned corn (drained and rinsed) but if using fresh corn you can add it in when you add the zucchini. 

Once it comes up to a simmer it's ready to serve.  I usually don't let it go much longer or the zucchini will get mushy. 

Be sure to take a final taste for seasoning.  I added another generous pinch of salt so that's close to 1.5 teaspoons for the whole batch, but keep in mind this will depend on which stock you use. 

The zucchini gets along so well with this tomato mixture, and when you let it swim in some Souper Broth it gets even better.  I'm always amazed at the flavor produced from such a simple, healthy list of ingredients -- I hope you are too!

Okay don't forget that your choice of stock will impact this Calabacitas Soup, so try to use some stock that you trust.  And if you want to experiment with a homemade batch then see this Better Vegetable Stock.  

Buen Provecho. 

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Want to see the latest recipe?  It's this Easy Taco Salad.