Kelly Rossiter
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I was in Guadalajara a number of years ago and had some really wonderful meals there, as well as some very fine tequila, but Mexican cuisine is not something that I have a lot of experience cooking. As someone whose exposure to Mexican food had previously been of the Tex-Mex variety, I was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety of flavours and the delicacy of many of the dishes.
When I saw some tomatillos at my local farmers' market, I thought I would give them a try. Most of the recipes I found using tomatillos were for salsa, which really wasn't what I wanted at all. I finally came across one for cheese enchiladas, so I decided to try that. I doubt very much that these were anything like traditional Mexican enchiladas, but they were pretty tasty.
I have to admit to changing the recipe a fair amount. Originally it called for 2 1/2 cups of green onions, but interesting enough, the only green onions I can get now are from Mexico, so I ended up using a regular onion and cooked it first, rather than adding it raw. I thought the addition of 12 cloves of garlic was a bit much, so I cut it down to 4. I used sorrel from my garden rather than spinach. I find Monterey Jack cheese so tasteless as to be a useless waste of calories so I used cheddar cheese, and far less than 3 cups indicated. I also added some mushrooms just for the heck of it. I also sprinkled it with some fresh cilantro after it was cooked.
Cheese Enchiladas with Tomatillo-Green Chilie Sauce
3/4 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, quartered
1 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chilies
4 garlic cloves
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup canned mild green chilies
12 large spinach leaves
8 corn tortillas
3 cups (packed) grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 12 ounces)
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1. Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in large skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tomatillos are soft, about 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to blender; add green chilies, and spinach; puree. Add onions to skillet and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add onions to the blender and puree. Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook until they throw off their liquid. Season sauce with salt and pepper.
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Place tortilla on work space and spread a layer of sauce over it. into sauce. Top with cheesem mushrooms and 1 tablespoon sauce. Roll up tortilla. Place seam side down in prepared dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, sauce, cheese, and mushrooms. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2001
Other Mexican Recipes
Make Your Own Tortilla Chips
Make a Quesadilla with Vegetables from the Farmers' Market
Emeril's Hearty Green Enchiladas
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