Not long ago, H.O.G. hosted an all out vegetarian iron chef competition. The guests not only had a blast but made some amazing food too! Based on the photo, need I say more?

They strayed from the base concept, but hey… we like imagination.

Corn, Pepper and Squash Gorditas with Sweet Pea Guacamole

For the Gorditas
2 cups masa harina
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups warm water

Mix flours, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Add the warm water. Combine thoroughly to make a smooth dough. Roll the dough into balls the size of a walnut, a few at a time. Set aside and keep covered.
One at a time, roll each ball of dough in moistened palm of your hand until smooth, lay on a piece of plastic wrap, cover with another piece of plastic wrap and press down to flatten. To shape the patty, cut with a 2 to 2 ¼-inch diameter cookie cutter. It should be about 1/8 inch thick. Smooth the rough edges with your finger to make it ready to cook. Pan fry the gorditas until golden on both sides.

For the Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 small clove of garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
1 pound yellow squash, medium diced
3 ears yellow corn, shucked and corn removed from the husk
1 teaspoon fresh epazote, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Slowly cook the onion and garlic until tender, but still translucent. Add the peppers first and cook for about 5 minutes then add the squash, corn and epazote. Saute for another 5 minutes and set aside.

For the Sweet Pea Guacamole
2 pounds shelling peas removed from pods
2 ripe avocados
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of one lime
Salt

Blanch the peas in simmering water for about 3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and shock in ice water. In the food processor add the chili, peas and avocado. Let’ er rip until the mixture becomes smooth and satiny. Finish with a pinch of salt.To serve, spoon some filling on top of the Gorditas and slather with some guacamole and chopped cilantro

This entry was posted on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 2:42 pm and is filed under Main Dishes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.