Monday, July 5, 2010

Mixed Green Enchiladas


I didn't eat a whole lot of enchiladas growing up, but my Nana would make them and they were always a treat. Most often she made them from shredded roasted or boiled chicken, a nice thin and spicy red sauce, and a little cheese. They were always served with the best rice and beans imaginable.
This summer my wife and I are members of a CSA (community sponsored agriculture) program which we pick up at our local Farmer's Market here in Bloomington, IN. Between the greens we get in our share each week and that sold by local farmers at the market, we are eating greens pretty frequently. Greens like kale, collards, chard, etc are relatively new to me and now I can't imagine living without them. My wife is a kale fanatic so we have it pretty frequently. But we've discovered that beet and radish greens make a great filling for enchiladas. So, having picked up a nice bunch of beets, we decided to add the greens to our swiss chard and make enchiladas. It was a great bunch of greens.
Side note: In an effort to cut down on the oil, I heat my corn tortillas over a comal, but you can use any household frying pan. Most people lightly brown the tortillas in vegetable oil before dipping them in the sauce and rolling. That method works but it's also a bit messy. I've found that heating them on the stove in a dry pan sufficiently hardens the tortillas while cutting back on the oil.

















Recipe: (serves 2-3)
3 cups enchilada sauce
6 corn tortillas
1 bunch beet greens
1 small bunch swiss chard
1/3 cup+ your favorite cheese (we used monterey jack but I tend to prefer other mexican cheeses


Rinse the greens and steam them for 3 minutes (it's nice for them to be a little harder than what you'd normally eat since they're baking anyway). When cool, chop finely.
Ladle some of the enchilada sauce into a casserole dish - enough to cover the bottom. Heat tortillas on both sides over the stove until lightly brown but still pliable. Dip tortillas into pot/bowl of enchilada sauce and place into casserole dish. How you fill them is up to you. Sometimes we fill them completely with greens and leave the cheese for the top, while other times we do a mix. A mix of greens and cheese helps fill out the enchiladas a bit better. Add a small handful of greens to the tortilla, top with cheese if desired and roll the tortilla as tight as possible. Our dish fits 6 perfectly, but if I'm doubling the recipe, I'll use a glass 9x13 dish. Ladle remaining sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!



2 comments:

  1. And to think I have been throwing away the beet tops!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome! Greens are one of my favorite things to eat in tacos, but never tried rolling 'em up in enchiladas...if only I had known this morning while the hubs was making some!! Next time, for sure ;)

    ReplyDelete

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