Kabocha and Collard Greens Tostadas
Can I tell you how satisfying these were! All the cravings of fall in a fun little package, well on top of it. The actual tostada is the game-changer here.
This recipe aims to give an inspirational guideline for what you have in hand so let me tell you quickly why it works, and then you can follow this recipe or, create your own with your favorite ingredients.
Start with a robust leafy green like collard greens in my case, and build a base with some onion, and some aromatics quickly sautéed. Pair that with the sweetness and creaminess of any pumpkin or squash and a good kick of a quick roasted salsa or hot sauce, and / or pickled onions. Now the magic happens when you put this dish into a tostada!
Ingredients For 4 people:
12 tostadas (recipe)
1/2 cup roasted salsa verde or roja (recipe)
1/2 cup red pickled onions (recipe)
For the Kabocha:
8 oz Kabocha squash
1 tsp chipotle in adobo (available at the Hispanic section of almost any grocery store)
2 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs miso (optional- it just goes well as a marinade but you can use tahini or nothing at all)
For the Greens:
1 small onion roughly chopped, any type
5 cups collard greens, roughly chopped. (you can also use spinach, kale or chard)
1 tsp vegetable or olive oil
1/2 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar (or your favorite vinegar)
How to:
For the Kabocha: Preheat the oven to 400.F Cut kabocha into 1/4-inch slices with skin, or peel and cut into cubes of about 1 inch thick, otherwise they’ll take longer to roast.
In bowl add remaining ingredients and mix well. Add cut kabocha and toss to coat well, then transfer to a pre-lined baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.
Notes if you are doing the tostadas and salsa as well:
If you are doing the tostadas at the same time, adjust the baking time to 10 minutes due to the increased oven temperature.
If you are doing the salsa, put a separate baking tray with 3 medium size tomatillos or 2 Roma tomatoes, 1/4 onion, and 1 jalapeño, and roast for the same time as the kabocha. Take out, and blend with a pinch of salt and a handful of cilantro. Alternatively, you can make a raw salsa by blending the above mentioned ingredients without roasting them first- equally good.
For the Collard Greens: While the kabocha is roasting, heat up a pan for 10 seconds on medium heat. Add chopped onion and let it sear for two minutes without stirring. This dry-heat cooking step will imprint some chard flavor without softening the onion too much. Add the collard greens, oil, oregano, and salt and stir lightly to combine. Let it cook until greens are bright green and kind of shiny. Add a splash of vinegar and stir to combine. Put kabocha slices or cubes on top or serve it in a separate plate. You can keep it warm or serve at room temperature.
Note if you are doing the pickled onions: Use the same pan from the greens, no need to rinse first.
How to do the whole thing: In summary, for cooking the whole shebang I think it would take you around 45 minutes. Here’s the cheat-sheet:
In the oven, make the tostadas, roast the kabocha and roast the salsa ingredients at the same time in different tray, adjusting the time for the tostadas to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute your collard greens to al dente, then use the same pan to make your pickled onions
Blend your salsa. Mix collard greens and kabocha. Set tostadas and all fixings on the table. That’s it!