Autumn leaf tortilla chips

Dip into fall with a rustic version of a party time favorite: home fried tortilla chips and Roasted butternut squash salsa

Chips and salsa are a party time staple, and while they’re easy to grab on the go at the store, these home fried chips are an oft requested menu item at our Halloween bashes. Because the frying process is messy, I make large batches and store them in air tight bags up to 2 days in advance of the party. The chips are thick and crunchy making them a great pairing for a chunky style salsa. With the produce of summer and fall colliding here at the farmhouse, it seemed like the perfect time to toss some roasted butternut squash into a classic salsa en molcajete.

Salsa en molcajete is a Mexican tradition I learned while studying abroad. A molcajete is a mortar and pestle made of volcanic rock, and I like the irregular texture mashing by hand lends to the salsa, especially for these chips. If you don’t have a molcajete, you can certainly blend the ingredients together in a food processor.

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Ingredients for the chips:

• Corn tortillas (as many as you want to make)

• Neutral oil such as canola or vegetable for frying

Ingredients for the salsa:

• 1 pound tomatoes such as Roma

• 1 poblano pepper

• 1 jalapeño pepper

• 1 small white or yellow onion

• 1-2 cloves garlic

• 1 cup cubed butternut squash

• Olive oil

• Lime

• Ground cinnamon

• Salt

How to make the chips: start by cutting leaf shapes out of a stack of corn tortillas. Reserve any odd leftover bits of tortilla to fry and use as toppings for soups or salads. Fill a deep, heavy bottomed pan with 1-2 inches of oil. I like to use cast iron but an enamel Dutch oven would also work nicely. There should be enough oil in the pan to allow the tortillas to float on top of the oil without touching the bottom of the pan. Turn stove to medium heat and bring oil up to 350F. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with paper towels. Using tongs, gently lower several tortilla leaves into the oil. Only fit as many into the pan as can float in a single layer. After 10 seconds, use the tongs to flip the tortillas over to prevent the chips from frying into a concave shape. Fry approximately 1 minute per side. They should be lightly golden upon extraction as they will continue to cook after removal from the pan. Using tongs or a wire mesh spider, remove the chips onto the paper towel lined sheet pan to drain excess oil. Salt immediately while still hot.

How to make the salsa: Quarter the onion. Place quartered onion, whole tomatoes, whole garlic cloves, and whole peppers on a sheet pan. Broil until exterior is charred.* Remove smaller items like the garlic from the oven earlier as needed. Peel and dice the butternut squash into half inch cubes. Once vegetables are charred, change oven temperature to 375F. Toss cubed butternut squash with olive oil and salt. Spread onto the sheet pan and bake around 30 minutes tossing halfway through. Squash should be softened with some browning on the edges. Add garlic and a pinch of salt to the molcajete and grind into a paste. Next, add peppers and onions (optionally remove the pepper seeds) and smash. Next, add tomatoes and pulverize to desired consistency. Add roasted butternut squash and mash about half of it to leave some whole cubes intact. Season salsa with salt, lime, and a pinch of cinnamon to taste.

*The charring process can also be accomplished stove top in the more traditional way using a comal if preferred.