Summer announced its arrival with an insufferable heat wave this year. My sweat glands are weeping, my pores are wailing, and the mere thought of turning on the oven makes me want to cry to the heavens for relief. Not a pretty picture, I know.
Apologies in advance, as this surely will not be the last time I bemoan the heat this summer. This is also the first of several summer squash posts that I have in the works—I hope you enjoy interesting preparations of these light and refreshing, colorful vegetables as much as I do.
To tell you the truth, these tacos are great but the avocado chimichurri sauce really steals the show. I got my first taste of avocado chimichurri sauce at a remarkably good hotel restaurant in San Antonio a few months ago. Chimichurri sauce is an Argentine herb and olive oil sauce most often made with parsley. It is typically served on grilled vegetables and meat, but this avocado chimichurri sauce would be great on anything and everything with Latin flavors.
You could, for instance, serve the avocado chimichurri with huevos racheros or on a baked frittata filled with cherry tomatoes, red onion and black beans. Try adding it to kale and black bean burritos, serving it on tostadas or sub it for the avocado and cilantro in this burrito bowl. Dip a basic quesadilla into this stuff and it’ll become positively divine. I’d have no qualms dunking crispy French fries in this stuff, either. Refried black beans and cilantro lime rice served with grilled vegetables and topped with avocado chimichurri sauce? Fiesta time!
Before we get to the recipe, I want to share some notes on the method and ingredients. If I had a grill, I would have grilled the corn on the cob and slices of squash, but in my single girl, apartment dwelling ways, I do not. I chose to ribbon the squash because I like playing with my new vegetable peeler
I think, in my haste to publish this black-eyed pea salad recipe a couple weeks ago, I forgot to tell you why black-eyed peas are so great. Black-eyed peas are beans—not peas—and they are perhaps my favorite white bean, because of their small size, mild taste and smooth texture. They deserve to be eaten year round, not just on New Year’s! If you’re not into black-eyed peas or can’t find them, black beans would be a great substitution. Lastly, after photographing the tacos as shown here, I tried adding feta cheese to one and shredded sharp cheddar cheese to the other. As much as I love cheese, I don’t think the tacos need it. Chimichurri and spicy slices of radish is just right.
- Olive oil
- 1/2 medium red onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 ear of corn, husked and kernels sliced off from the cob
- 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
- 2 small zucchinis, ribboned or chopped
- 1 small yellow squash, ribboned or chopped
- salt and black pepper
- big handful cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 2 cups cooked black-eyed peas or black beans (or 1 can, rinsed and drained)
- about 6 small corn tortillas
- 3 radishes, sliced super thin using a mandoline, vegetable peeler or knife
- 1 cup parsley, lightly packed (mostly leaves, some small stems are ok)
- small handful cilantro
- 1 avocado, pitted, sliced into chunks and skin removed
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small lime, juiced or 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
- salt and black pepper
- First, make the chimichurri sauce. In a food processor, combine the parsley, cilantro, avocado, garlic and lime juice or vinegar. Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container once or twice. With the machine running, slowly stream in the olive oil and water. Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and process again to blend well. Use a spatula to transfer the sauce to a small bowl and cover it.
- In a large pan over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the red onion and corn for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent. Add the jalapeño, zucchini, yellow squash and a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes or longer, stirring often, until the squash has lost a substantial amount of water. Reduce the heat to low and add the cherry tomatoes and black-eyed peas, stirring until the mixture is heated through. Remove the taco filling from heat and set aside.
- In a small pan over medium heat, heat each tortilla on both sides for a few seconds until warmed. Or, stack the tortillas on a plate, cover and microwave for a few seconds, until warmed through. Spoon taco filling into the middle of each tortilla. Top with ample chimichurri sauce (don’t skimp) and sliced radish. Serve immediately.
- Chimichurri sauce adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook
by Mark Bittman.
- Yields around 6 tacos, enough for 2 very hungry people.
- Store leftover chimichurri in a small, air-tight jar for 1 to 2 days.
- Here is the best way to strip corn from the cob.
- Find Mark Bittman’s original chimichurri recipe at Lexi’s Kitchen. Check out other creative ways to use and make chimichurri sauce in the comments of this week’s Food Matters Project post. Don’t miss Sarah’s summer squash and skirt steak tacos with arugula-basil chimichurri.
46 Comments
Oh girl, I hear ya on the heat! This recipe is lovely, Kate! Now if only I had it in front of me right now…
NO EFF-ING WAY. I knew there was a reason (or 87?) we were friends. :) And avocado chimichurri? Brilliant.
I want some of this sauce…. right…. now.
This post is proof of summer’s goodness — despite that overwhelming heat you describe. I am still waiting for corn to appear at my market, but I will tuck this idea away for when it comes!
These tacos look fantastic with all the gorgeous summer veggies!
I can’t wait to try this! My oven makes my apartment into a sauna even hours after I turn it off. Hope it cools off where you are soon! Thanks!
This is brilliant! Gorgeous photos and delicious sounding recipe.
I live in Colorado and have been tolerating record-breaking heat waves. It’s not pretty :(
omg. I need 4,000 of these.
What a great idea to throw some avocado into the chimichurri. I’ve had a bag of black eyed peas sitting in my pantry for months now, you just sparked my interest in using them – pronto!
OH MY. These look fabulous! Since becoming a pescatarian I feel like my go to meals involve some sort of “Mexican” theme so this will be a great addition to the arsenal! I might even have to change up my whole meal plan for the week to fit these in :)
Gorgeous! These are now on the weeks menu…
Looks great Kate! The avocado is a great addition.
Love it! The Chimichurri goes so beautifully with avocado. Thanks for the great recipe!
Yum!! You guys are good!!
Mouthwatering… It looks so flavorful.
The avocado chimichurri sauce sounds lovely, anything with avocado sounds good to me these days!
I love chimichurri sauce so these tacos sound right up my street!
Avocado chimichurri sauce sounds absolutely divine and the perfect foil for a spicy taco. I love how bright the green colour is!
Everytime I have black eyed peas, I always think “crap…why don’t I eat these more often!” I love how you incorporated them into the taco filling. Inspiring! This avacado chimichurri sauce is going on my list of “must make” items this weekend, along with your coconut butter recipe! brilliant.
That chimichurri looks out of this world! Yum.
You can send a bit of the heat our way (Alberta) I wont mind in the slightest! Just think of how many toxins are leaving your system with all the sweat!
Oh my gosh, I love the Rikon peeler. I have the white one as well. It’s lethal on vegetables. :)
Also, the tacos look delicious.
these look amazing, I will be making them soon!
I’ll be your best friend if you air mail me a dozen of those delicious tacos ;) They look extremely tasty. I so know what you mean about the heat. We’ve been grilling to avoid heating the house.
I’m loving summer squash right now and am always looking for recipes with radishes! Yum Yum!
Send some heat over here. I think we are the ONLY place in the Continental US that isn’t hot right now. cry.
Avocado Chimichurri?! I want to put that on everything!!!! These are going on next week’s menu for sure.
Your photos always look AMAZING, Kate. What a great idea to make an avocado-chimichurri sauce. Just pulled some black beans from the freezer–I’m getting a good sense of what I am going to have for dinner tonight!!!
Just found your website, and just made these. OMG these are the best things ever! I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow. Also, I can’t wait to cook another one of your recipes! Thank you!
Thank you, Diana! I’m so glad you enjoy the tacos. I have a tostadas recipe that you might like, too!
YUMMY! I just had this, and it is sooooooo good!
Thanks, Sally! So glad you enjoyed the tacos.
Wow, this looks good! A really refreshing summer meal.
The sauce looks amazing!
Oh wow. What a fantastic compilation of ingredients. A couple of these tacos with a nice cold margarita just screams summer!
love a good avocado sauce! Sounds delicious!
Yum yum yum! Those look delicious! I definitely want to try that avocado chimichurri sauce, especially on some salmon quesadillas! YUM!
Thanks for sharing! :)
Please try the avocado chimichurri sauce, I’m sure it would be amazing on salmon!
Just made these last night and they were FABULOUS!!! We ate them in our basement lounge and washed them down with beer while listening to our Cleveland Indians on the radio (they won!). A perfect Thursday evening!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the tacos, Kathryn! Sounds like you had a really great evening. Thank you for commenting!
Kate, your squash tacos sure sound refreshing during these first few days of summer and that avocado chimichurri couldn’t look more delicious! Thanks for sharing and enjoy the rest of your summer! – Ramona from Sam’s Club
LOVED these! We diced the squash but otherwise followed to the letter. The sauce makes the dish. I coudl eat the sauce on it’s own, in pasta, on potatoes…you name it!
Yay, glad you enjoyed the tacos! I am obsessed with that avocado chimichurri… I even put it on stove-popped popcorn! Messy, but so good.
wow tacos look really great! and a great dip too *drool*.
Delicious summer meal right here. I made these last night. Used black beans instead of the beps and added sauteed nopal cactus to the skillet at the last minute. Topped with the avo chimichurri and some homemade cabbage-beet kraut and salsa. Divine. Thank you so much for this excellent recipe!
Thanks, Michael! I bet the tacos are terrific with black beans. Glad you enjoyed them.
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