Hey guys! Ok, as promised we are back today with our awesome Enchilada recipe. I know the title of these is quite a bold statement...and everyone has different taste buds, so how can I be so certain that these are the Most Delicious You Will Ever Have?? Well, I'm not certain...but I think I'm fairly close, and me and Aar are really hoping that your taste buds agree with ours.
They are perfect for the vegetarian but can also be added to just like we did for my brother Walt. He's always looking for chicken in his mexican so just before we rolled his enchiladas up we added some shredded rotisserie chicken. I swear, we blinked and his plate was clean. And this dude is picky when it comes to mexican. Even though we often use many of the key ingredients here...the flavor of these leans way more in the direction of comfort food. And the credit goes to the enchilada sauce. Way more tomatoey, creamy, mild yet full of flavor. And real easy to do and with so few ingredients. You simply can't get one of those store bought kits with a mile long list of ingredients, words you can't pronounce, tons of salt. This is the way to go!
Like I said, there's nothing crazy as far as ingredients go...but boy do they work well together like Hall & Oats, Ben & Jerry...or better yet, The Three Amigos.
For the Enchilada Sauce:
3 cups low sodium chicken broth (you could use vegetable broth here)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup flour (we used whole wheat )
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1-2 tablespoons Sriracha (optional)
salt/pepper
For the Enchiladas:
1 15oz can black beans drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups corn (we used frozen organic, thawed)
6 oz. baby spinach (we used a 6oz bag)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 green onions sliced thin
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (save some for garnish)
2 teaspoons cumin
1-2 tablespoons Sriracha (optional)
3 cups shredded cheese (we used a mixture of sharp cheddar, Monterey jack, and Asadero)
6-8 whole wheat tortillas (depending on how full you make them, we made 6)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9 x 13 (or two 8 x 8) baking dish by spraying with non stick spray or brushing with olive oil.
First...the Enchilada sauce. In a sauce pan heat your olive oil over medium heat. Add your tomato paste, flour, 2 teaspoons of cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder and sriracha. Cook about 1 minute, whisking. It will be really thick, now whisk in your broth and bring it to a boil.
Then reduce to a simmer, and cook till thickened. About 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and set to the side.
In a saute pan, over medium heat, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of garlic. Cook till fragrant, about 1 minute. Now add your spinach and saute about 2-3 minutes. Just until slightly wilted.
In a large bowl, combine your beans, corn, green onions, cilantro, 2 cups of the cheese, sauteed spinach, 2 teaspoons cumin, and Sriracha.
Mix it all up really well, making sure to combine the cumin and sriracha throughout. And if you are adding chicken you can do it now or add to individual enchiladas in the rolling up step like we did for my brother.
Eye up your mixture and separate into about 6 or 8 portions in the bowl. Lay your tortilla on a large plate to work, scoop filling into center, and roll one end over the filling, then tuck that end under the filling and continue rolling til the end, and place the seam on the bottom. You are not tucking in the ends like you do on a burrito. And really, there is plenty of flex room here. You can get the small flour tortillas and roll up a whole bunch of them and then snuggle them all in your baking dish or you can use large tortillas like we did. After rolling, we actually cut the ends off of ours so that they'd fit in the pan without the ends folding against the sides. We rolled all of ours and set them on a platter, while we prepared our baking dishes.
You can use one 9 x 13 or like we did, two 8 x 8. We fit three large sized enchiladas in each pan. Coat with non stick spray or brush with olive oil. Add a small amount of the enchilada sauce to the bottom of your dish or dishes. Spread around to coat the entire bottom.
Place your enchiladas seam side down and generously smother with sauce, making sure to cover all areas.
Sprinkle with the remaining cup of cheese.
Pop them in the oven for about 20-25 mins, until cheese is nice and melted and bubbly.
Serve with a bit more sriracha if that is your thing, a dollop of light sour cream, and some chopped cilantro and green onions.
These were killer! Every bite we sounded like total (insert word here for overenthusiastic food tasters). We were all mmmm, my gosh, so good, unbelievable, yummmm, groan, gasp, nom, nom, nom...
You gotta give these a try and def let us know what you think afterwards...maybe add to our list of food loving sounds and exclamations.
xo, Jenny & Aaron
*adapted from The Garden Grazer
