Estate Dinners
Zucchini Enchilada Boats with Chorizo and Black Bean Filling
The Strategy:
Hollowing out fresh zucchini halves creates the perfect vessels for a hearty, spiced chorizo and black bean filling. Baking them under a blanket of rich homemade enchilada sauce and melted cheese makes for a fun, vibrant dish that is as pleasing to look at as it is to eat. Feel free to pile on the toppings like fresh cilantro, guacamole, and sour cream right before serving.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and diced, about 1 cup
- 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced, about 2 tablespoons
- 1 pound ground beef sirloin
- 8 ounces fresh chorizo sausage
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 4 large zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise, seeded
- 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded, about 2 cups
- Fresh cilantro sprigs
- Pickled jalapeno pepper slices
- Prepared guacamole
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cook the onion in the skillet until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the sirloin and chorizo and stir, breaking up large clumps, until the meat is browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the black beans.
- Season with some of the salt and pepper. Use a potato masher to break up the beans into the meat filling.
- Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Whisk together the vegetable oil, flour and chili powder in a pot over medium heat to form a paste.
- Stir in the tomato paste and the chicken stock.
- Stir in onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and oregano.
- Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes to thicken and allow the seasonings to merge together.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick you can pour in a bit more stock.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Spoon some of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.
- Scoop the seeds from the center of each zucchini half leaving enough of the flesh to create a boat.
- Place the zucchini boats into the dish.
- Season zucchini with salt and pepper.
- Spoon the filling into the boats. It's okay if the filling spills out.
- Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the boats.
- Layer cheese over the top.
- Cover the dish with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown and the zucchini is fork-tender, about 20 minutes more.
- Garnish the boats with fresh cilantro, jalapeno slices, guacamole and sour cream.
The full recipe lives in the Vault
Ingredients, step-by-step method, and every chef-tested detail are reserved for members of the Estate Registry.
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The Heart of the Table
With their bubbly cheese and colorful garnishes, these enchilada boats bring a festive and playful energy to the dinner table. Passing this dish around sparks immediate smiles and casual, happy chatter, wrapping the room in the warm, savory aroma of toasted spices and bubbling cheese.
- a pair of professional-grade stainless steel locking kitchen tongs
- a flexible stainless steel slotted turner with a walnut handle
- a set of organic, hand-glazed stoneware soup bowls in a soft sage green
- a hand-cut glass mixing pitcher with a diamond-cut pattern
- a sleek, solid brass Japanese double jigger with inner measurement lines
- a seamless, high-heat resistant silicone spatula in a soft slate grey
Neighborly Grace
- THE PREPARATION: Line the baked boats on a long wooden serving board, topped with dollops of guacamole and sour cream, then scattered with fresh jalapeno slices and cilantro sprigs.
- THE POUR: A cold, crisp Mexican lager with a squeeze of fresh lime, or a vibrant hibiscus iced tea to cut through the rich chorizo.
- THE VIBE: Covered Veranda. The evening breeze carries the scent of blooming jasmine while guests dig into the warm, cheesy boats under soft string lights.
