Enchiladas!
Seeking enchilada recipes to quench my cravings for San Antonio cuisine. I make a mean sour cream chicken enchilada, but would like to expand my horizons a little. Bonus points for vegetarian enchiladas, or meatie-versions with no/optional dairy ingredients.
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9 Comments:
Man, I wish I could help out right now. I'm not a fan of the Sonoran/Chihuahuan cuisine I see here, what with its emphasis on potatoes and beef, but Lordy, do they make a world-class green chile cheese enchilada in these parts.
I tried to find a good regional recipe online, without luck. They tend toward the tomato sauce-based enchiladas, which I don't like as much.
I guess what I see in the local recipes are:
--Homemade corn tortillas (there is a huge difference from storebought, unless you live in the Southwest where you can get them fresh and warm from a local company)
--Queso blanco or queso chihuahua
--SW green chiles
--lime juice
--cilantro garnish
--melted cheese on top of the enchiladas
Wish I could help more with one of my favorite dishes, but they are so common and cheap here, no one thinks of making them at home -- they just hit the nearest Mexican resto!
TikiPundit at 6:42PM on 02/24/08
If you can find dried chile piquine (I got mine from el salvador), toss that (you can use any chile that you like, depending on your preference of heat/smoky flavour), some cumin, and other spices depending on your preference, in a bit of veg oil, then fry up thin flat squares of firm tofu in it until golden. You can sub that in for a cheese.
As for sour cream, mashed avocados can work, but only if added as a topping (I'm not a big expert on enchiladas)
browntown at 8:58PM on 02/24/08
Grilled or sauteed mushrooms make a great enchilada filling, especially portabellas.
I've had some awesome shrimp-filled enchiladas, but I don't have a recipe.
Shredded beef is very traditional and quite yummy if properly seasoned.
LoCo at 9:03PM on 02/24/08
My dad makes killer enchilladas, but they can easily be made vegetarian. All you need is corn tortillas, monteray jack cheese and mole. Does everyone know what mole is? I don't know if they do, so here's a link:
http://www.mexgrocer.com/brand-doha-maria.html
The first one will work perfectly, it's the one my dad and I use. Just make the mole according to the directions on the jar and heat up some corn tortillas by microwaving them in a moist towel (so that they don't dry out). Similar to the way you'd make a lasagna, you're going to want to put some "sauce" or mole at the bottom of your pan. Then simply stuff the tortillas with cheese, line them up in the baking dish, cover them with more mole and cheese and presto! You've got delicious and somewhat authentic enchilladas!
PumpkinBear at 4:39AM on 02/25/08
I make a mock meat of lentils to use for the following Enchilada Casserole recipe.
Easy Enchilada Casserole
1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese
1 large bag corn tortilla chips
1 large can enchilada sauce (I use the recipe below)
1 large can ranch style beans (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat and drain. Follow directions on taco seasoning mix. In a large casserole dish, pour 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the dish to keep it from sticking or burning on the bottom. Layer all ingredients in the casserole dish in the following order: sauce, chips, meat, beans, cheese, and continue to layer until all are used. Save some cheese for the top layer. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for approximately 30 minutes, or until it’s bubbly and the cheese on top is melted and starting to brown.
Mexican Enchilada Sauce Recipe
3-6 servings
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon oregano
3 cups water
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1. Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Stirring constantly, slowly add enough of the water to make a thin paste.
3. Pour into pan and add rest of water.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.
5. Stir in tomato sauce.
Kmelion at 6:21AM on 02/25/08
I tried this one from homesick texan and they ate it up like mad.
http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/01/essence-of-tex-mex.html
I would like to see Homesick be a contributor she is by far a great cook and very entertaining since she lives in NYC. What a great combination and she can find ingredients which has to give you two gold stars for effort.
JerzeeTomato at 9:07AM on 02/25/08
It's funny how mexican dishes change their name just with a slight change... I make these Cheese Rice Burritos with a Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. IMHO, they're awesome!!!
Even though the recipe is named as "burritos", if you make extra tomatillo sauce and spoon it all over the "burritos", which you have stuffed in a casserole dish, and top with extra shredded mozzarella cheese, you now have a Cheese Rice and Tomatillo Enchiladas... cool, no?
Madelyn.
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 1:14PM on 02/25/08
Just remember that traditional Mexican enchiladas (as opposed to Tex-Mex, Cali-Mex, etc.) are made with maize tortillas (corn) and employ a sauce that's rich in chiles (the word enchilada derives from chile).
There's a great little MX restaurant in the LA area (teensy-weensy hole in the wall in a barrio neighborhood) that served an awesome potato-and-chile filled enchilada with a dark rich mole-style sauce. They are to die for.
LoCo at 1:20PM on 02/25/08
traditional tex-mex enchiladas are also made with corn tortillas, and chili gravy in tex-mex cuisine is pretty much fat and dried chili powder (made of dried chiles) so that is pretty much the same as your definition of traditional Mexican enchiladas.
Enchiladas, like all Mexican cuisine, vary greatly according to region and available ingredients.
beans, potatoes, leafy-greens (kale, spinach, chard), mushrooms, squash are the main ingredients I use in enchiladas. I usually choose one or two from above to combine, saute them a bit with some seasonings (cumin, chile powder, salt, pepper) if you want, they should be mostly cooked but not entirely, as they will cook a bit more in the oven. Generally I cook the filling just enough to get some of the moisture out (especially mushrooms and greens).
Sauce varies depending on the ingredients I am filling the enchiladas with: a simple salsa makes a fine sauce, or make some chili colorado, or roasted tomatillo salsa, or make a chili gravy like that of the Homesick Texan (inspired by Robb Walsh), or the mole recommended above is also quite tasty and was a staple in the households of Mexican friends when I was a child.. If I get my hands on a lot of avocados, a pureed avocado mixture with minced onion and jalapeno stuffing, with a spicy tomato sauce, and a sprinkling of queso fresco and cilantro is delicious.
intheyearofthepig at 4:14PM on 02/25/08