Blake Makes

I love cheese enchiladas- they are my most favorite food ever, ever. Well, actually, cheese is my most favorite food. But, when you stuff it inside corn tortillas and bake it to bubbly perfection, it doesn’t get much better.

I stumbled across this recipe for veggie and cheese enchiladas when I was skimming through Susan Spicer’s Crescent City Cooking, and the photograph looked so mouth-watering, I had to try to make them myself.

I will warn you that the enchiladas do take a while to make, but you can make the sauce a day ahead and save yourself some time later. Having made these before, you would think that I would do that, but, alas, I am a procrastinator. (Blake, don’t you and my mom always say the Johnson motto is “Why do today what you can do tomorrow?”; Guess it’s in my blood.)

The time it takes to make these, however, is totally worth it. They are so yummy and satisfy all my Tex-Mex cravings. Plus, the veggies actually add nutrition to my favorite meal! Yay!

Ingredients (Ancho-Tomato Sauce):

• 1 large dried ancho chile (Note- I couldn’t find an ancho chile, so I used 1 T ancho chile power mixed with 1 T H2O, and added the vinegar to this mixture.)
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 8 roma tomatoes
• Salt
• 1 T olive oil
• Water, Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock

Directions (Ancho-Tomato Sauce):

• Lay a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom of cast-iron skillet and set over medium heat. Place the ancho chile on the foil and cook about 2 min, turning once, until the chile smells toasty. Remove chile and set aside, then add onion and garlic and cook 10-15 min, turning the veggies once or twice as they brown. OR (this is what I do) place the veggies on a baking sheet under a broiler and cook 6-7 min, turning them once halfway through.
• Discard stem and seeds from cooled chile and tear into pieces. Place chile in small bowl, cover w/hot water, and add the vinegar. Let it soak for about 10 min. Peel garlic cloves and place them in food processor along w/onions.
• Char tomatoes in the same pan or under the broiler, turning several times so they are evenly blistered, about 10 minutes. Chop the tomatoes, skin and all, and add to processor. Save the chile soaking liquid and add the pieces of chile.
• Pulse to blend the sauce thoroughly. If necessary, add a little of chile liquid to thin (it should have the consistency of thick tomato juice). Season to taste with salt.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan and carefully pour in the sauce. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat for about 10 min. The sauce will darken and thicken a little. Add some H2O or Stock to adjust consistency. Simmer gently for about 5 more min and adjust seasoning to taste. Hold the sauce at room temperature while you make the filling.

Ingredients (Vegetable Filling):

• 3 T vegetable or olive oil
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 poblano pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, wiped clean with damp cloth, gills scraped, and cut in 1/4 inch strips
• 1/2 tsp each dried Mexican oregano and ground coriander
• Salt
• 2 medium zucchini cut lengthwise in 1/4 inch pieces, then crosswise into 1/4 inch dice
• 4 scallions, chopped
• Black pepper
• 1/2 bunch cilanro, cleaned and chopped (about 1/4 cup)

Directions (Vegetable Filling):

• Heat 1 T oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is very hot but not smoking, add the onion and poblano and toss to coat evenly with oil. Cook for 4-5 min, then scrape the veggies into a large bowl and return the skillet to the heat.
• Heat another T of oil; add the mushrooms and cook, tossing or stirring, until they are wilted and starting to get brown and crispy, 3-4 min. Stir in the oregano and coriander. Season with a little salt and add to bowl of vegetables.
• Heat the remaining T of oil, toss in the zucchini, and cook for 4-5 min, or until tender. Season with salt, stir in the scallions, and scrape the zucchini into the bowl of veggies.
• Grind a little black pepper over the vegetables and stir in the cilantro.

For Assembly:

• Vegetable oil, for greasing dish
• Ancho-Tomato Sauce
• 8-12 corn tortillas
• Vegetable Filling
• 2 1/2 cups white melting cheese (such as queso fresco, mild white cheddar, Monterey Jack, or asadero)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion, for garnish (optional)
• Chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)
• Sliced jalapenos, for garnish (optional)

Assembly Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Use a pastry brush to grease a 13 X 9-in baking pan or shallow oblong baking dish with vegetable oil. Ladle about 1/2 cup of sauce into the bottom of pan and spread evenly.
• Place about half of the remaining sauce in a 10-in skillet and warm gently. Submerge one tortilla in the sauce and let it warm until it is soft and pliable (about 5-10 seconds), then lift it out, draining the excess sauce back into skillet.j
• Place the tortilla on a work surface, spoon about 3 T of the vegetable mixture, sprinkle with a little cheese, and roll it up into a snug cylinder. Place the enchilada seam side down into the baking pan. Fill more tortillas in same manner. They should fit snugly in pan, in one layer.
• Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake for about 15 min, until they are hot all the way through and the cheese is bubbly. Garnish with onion, cilantro, and jalapenos and serve.

Whew! That has to be longest post ever!