15-Minute Charred Calabacita & Chorizo Fundido (The Saturday Grazing Skillet)
Saturday afternoons in my Brooklyn apartment are loud, hungry, and require a high-payoff, low-effort miracle before someone asks for another snack. That’s where this 15-Minute Charred Calabacita & Chorizo Fundido comes in. The inspiration? My Tío Beto’s legendary Oaxaca weekend cookouts, combined with my absolute refusal to spend more than 15 minutes at the stove on a Saturday. We are not suffering for dinner, people! The magic here is in the fat. You’re going to crisp up some Mexican chorizo and let that smoky, red rendered fat hard-char your calabacitas (summer squash). This keeps them sweet and toothsome, never mushy. Then, we blanket the whole skillet in melting Queso Oaxaca. Grab some sturdy chips, and ándale, you’ve won the weekend. What makes this so special to me is how it turns simple crisper-drawer veggies into an absolute event, balancing rich comfort with bright weeknight logic. Want to make it your own? Bodega Mode: if you can’t find Queso Oaxaca, string cheese or low-moisture mozzarella works beautifully. Got a tantito of leftover jalapeño? Toss it in. Taste it—then decide if you want a squeeze of lime to finish.
Featured Recipe
15-Minute Charred Calabacita & Chorizo Fundido (The Saturday Grazing Skillet)
Saturday afternoon grazing requires a high-payoff, low-effort miracle. We are using the smoky rendered fat from crisp Mexican chorizo to hard-char summer squash so it stays sweet and toothsome, never mushy. Blanket the whole thing in melting Oaxaca cheese, grab some sturdy chips, and you have just won the weekend.
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Timeline
Ingredients
- 8 oz Mexican chorizo(Casings removed if bought in links)
- 2 medium summer squash(Calabacitas or zucchini, diced into 1/2-inch cubes)
- 1/2 medium white onion(Finely diced)
- 2 cups Oaxaca cheese(Shredded or pulled into thin strings (Bodega Mode: use Monterey Jack or low-moisture mozzarella))
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro(Roughly chopped)
- 1 whole lime(Cut into wedges)
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños(Optional, but highly recommended for acid and heat)
- 1 bag sturdy tortilla chips(For scooping)
- 1 tbsp chorizo fat(Reserved from cooking chorizo)
Instructions
- 1
Place a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the 8 oz Mexican chorizo and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the fat renders out and the meat gets those crispy, dark-red edges.
5 min
Tip: Don't drain all the fat right away! That bright red oil is pure flavor logic—it is going to make our squash taste incredible.
- 2
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the crispy chorizo to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but about 1 tbsp chorizo fat from the skillet. Keep the heat at medium-high.
1 min
Tip: If your chorizo was super lean and you don't have enough fat left, add a splash of neutral oil.
- 3
Drop the 2 medium summer squash and 1/2 medium white onion into the hot fat in an even layer. Now, do nothing. Do not stir for at least 2 minutes. We want a real, aggressive char, not a sad steam. Once they have dark spots, toss and cook for another 2-3 minutes until just tender but still snappy.
5 min
Tip: Squash holds a lot of water. Moving it too much in the pan is how you get mush. Trust the process and let the heat do its job.
- 4
Turn the heat to low. Stir the reserved crispy chorizo back into the skillet with the squash. Evenly blanket everything with the 2 cups Oaxaca cheese. Cover the skillet with a lid or foil until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling.
4 min
Tip: If you want those beautiful browned cheese blisters, skip the lid and pop the skillet under your oven's broiler for 2 minutes instead.
- 5
Remove from heat. Scatter the 1/4 cup fresh cilantro and 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños over the top. Squeeze over the juice from 1 whole lime—this acid wakes the whole rich dish up. Serve immediately right out of the skillet with your 1 bag sturdy tortilla chips.
1 min
Tip: Eat this while it is hot and stretchy. We are not suffering for a Saturday snack, and nobody likes cold cheese.
Chef's Notes
Bodega Mode: If you can't find Oaxaca cheese, a block of low-moisture mozzarella mixed with a little Monterey Jack does the trick beautifully. The key here is the texture contrast between the rich, creamy cheese, the crunchy charred squash, and the bright, sharp bite of the lime and jalapeños.
María “Mari” Santiago
Oaxacan comfort, Brooklyn shortcuts, weeknight bright.
María “Mari” Santiago was born in Oaxaca, where her earliest kitchen memories are measured in scent: chiles toasting on a comal, cinnamon and chocolate blooming in mole, and the warm, nutty snap of a tlayuda folded in half for the walk home. She learned by watching—first her tías, then her abuela—picking up the small, practical rules that never made it into written recipes: how to tell when the garlic is *just* right, how to rescue a too-spicy salsa, and why you always taste the broth before you add the salt. Now in Brooklyn, Mari cooks the food she grew up on while raising two little kids and juggling real-life time limits. Her style is “real flavor, real life”: traditional Oaxacan and everyday Mexican dishes—moles, caldos, frijoles, enfrijoladas, salsas, and crispy tlayudas—made weeknight-friendly with smart shortcuts, brighter salsas, and more vegetables without losing the soul of the dish. She’s not precious about rules, she’s big on swaps, and she’s on a mission to prove that you can cook deeply flavorful Mexican food with what you can actually find at a normal grocery store (and still get dinner on the table before a meltdown). Mari’s recipes read like a friend texting you from the produce aisle: clear, funny, and unpretentious, with a side of abuela wisdom. If there’s a hard-to-find ingredient, she gives you a realistic alternative, tells you what will change (and what won’t), and keeps the focus where it belongs—on food that tastes like home, even when home is a small Brooklyn kitchen.