Enchiladas with Creamy Roasted Poblano and Spinach Sauce

These were the best enchiladas I've ever tasted! The creamy roasted poblano and spinach enchilada sauce is what really puts them over the top.  I will be making this sauce all the time. It's also wonderful as a dip with tortilla chips.  I found the recipe here while I was looking for a recipe to use up some spinach and poblanos I had in the fridge.  The original recipe calls for 3 cups of chicken, and I used diced roasted sweet potatoes instead of chicken and also made some with just cheese and they were both amazing!

Enchiladas with Creamy Roasted Poblano and Spinach Sauce

Enchiladas Especiales Tacuba Style

adapted from Rick Bayless's website, originally from Cafe Tacuba

2 fresh poblano chile

1 cup (lightly packed) roughly chopped spinach leaves

2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth ( I used vegetable broth)

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter—or you can use vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped (I used roasted garlic)
1/2 cup flour

Salt

3 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken) (I used roasted sweet potato cubes in some and cheddar and colby jack cheese in some instead of the chicken, use whatever you like :) )

12 corn tortillas (I made homemade tortillas for these, totally worth the extra effort)

A little vegetable oil for brushing or spraying

About 1 cup Mexican melting cheese (Chihuahua, quesadilla, asadero or the like) or Monterey Jack, brick or mild cheddar

A little chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Make the sauce. Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame...

or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, turning regularly, until the skins have blistered and blackened on all side, about 5 minutes for an open flame, about 10 minutes under the broiler.

Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel (paper towel worked fine) and, when handleable, rub off the blackened skin, tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem. Quickly rinse to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin.

Roughly chop and put in a blender jar. Add the spinach.

In a medium (3-quart) saucepan, combine the milk and broth, set over medium-low heat to warm. (I just warmed these in the microwave)

In a large (4-quart) saucepan, melt the butter (or heat the oil) over medium. Add the garlic (I used about half a head of roasted garlic) and cook for a minute to release its aroma, then add the flour and stir the mixture for a minute. Raise the heat to medium-high. Pour in the warm broth mixture and whisk constantly until the sauce boils. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Pour half the hot sauce into the blender with the chiles and spinach.

Cover loosely (I remove the center part of the lid, secure the lid, then drape a cloth over the whole thing) and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining sauce.

Taste and season with salt, usually about 2 teaspoons.  (I started with one and tasted from there, 2 seems like a little too much.)

2. Finish the enchiladas. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of each of four to six 9-inch individual ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the chicken (sweet potatoes, for just cheese enchiladas I did not add extra sauce to the cheese, just rolled them up with cheese only and did sauce on top).

Lay half of the tortillas out on a baking sheet and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil; top each tortilla with another one and brush or spray those with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.

Working quickly so that the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken up in each tortilla, then line them all up in the baking dish(es).

Douse evenly with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 20 minutes. Garnish with the cilantro and serve without hesitation.

~~~~~

I thought these were absolutely wonderful!  The homemade corn tortillas were amazing in this recipe. I used Rick's recipe for them using just Maseca and water and my new tortilla press and was so impressed. I usually prefer flour tortillas over corn, but these were just perfect for soaking in that delicious sauce and sopping it up. They did not get mushy like store bought corn tortillas and had a really nice toothsome texture after baking. So delicious!  I loved the gorgeous green color of the sauce before baking, it was so pretty. It darkened up a bit while baking but I just couldn't get over that soft mint almost seafoam green color.

Unfortunately my kids and picky husband wanted nothing to do with this dinner, not even the cheese ones, I was kind of anticipating that so made them something else instead as an option. Maybe next time I make these they will give them a try. I think if you took just one taste of this luscious sauce you would be a fan for sure :) Since I am the only enchilada fan I am linking these over to IHCC for their theme of the week, For Mom.  

Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes

I found this recipe in one of my older cookbooks, Better Homes and Gardens Bread Cookbook from 1963.

I love these retro / vintage cookbooks and have fun paging through them and trying a recipe that may have been a favorite back in the day. 

I made these one weekend morning when I wanted to try a new pancake recipe, they seemed simple enough that even picky husband, a pancake traditionalist, might like them.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

Better Homes and Gardens Bread Cookbook

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 teaspoon soda (baking soda)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

~

2 slightly beaten eggs

2 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter

Sift flour, soda, salt, and sugar into bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter, stirring only until flour is barely moistened. (There will be a few lumps.)  I'm going to add to just make sure they aren't big lumps, I like to whisk everything together pretty well so there are no flour clumps in pancakes, haven't had that issue with this recipe, but have in the past with recipes that say to barely stir anything.

Bake on hot, lightly greased griddle or electric skilled heated to 375 degrees. For uniform pancakes, use a 1/4 cup measure - or use a drip-cup pitcher and count 1-2-3 as you pour.

Turn cakes when center springs back to touch, or when bubbles on surface break. Flip cakes only once. Makes about 1 and 1/2 dozen 4 inch cakes. I made them a little bigger and got a good dozen.

 ~~~~~

These were great, they definitely had that old fashioned buttermilk tang that lots of pancakes nowadays miss. I love trying pancake recipes and  do have a favorite non buttermilk pancake recipe that I've perfected over the years to my family's tastes but this is now my go-to buttermilk pancake recipe.  A nice recipe to have when you find yourself with a half used container of buttermilk on the verge of expiring and want to use it up...

These were absolutely delicious with some butter and grade B maple syrup. The whole family enjoyed them and that always makes me smile! Happy breakfasting :)

Hungarian Strawberry Shortbread

Our Tuesdays with Dorie  treat of the week is Hungarian Shortbread. I had never heard of Hungarian Shortbread before but love shortbread so was excited to give this recipe a try.  

Cookies with jam in them are my favorite kind, and I love making jam, but was unable to find the rhubarb called for. The recipes says that you can also use your favorite flavor or preserves so I went with some homemade strawberry jam.

Hungarian Shortbread uses a technique I'd heard of but never tried myself, grating / shredding frozen dough! I used my salad shooter with the shredding cone, which made this recipe super easy. I couldn't wait to see what it looked like after it baked...

Here it is just out of the oven. I had to add an extra 5 minutes on the baking time because the middle seemed undone at 40, but when it checked it 5 minutes later it looked just right!  These are absolutely delicious and I would make them again for sure! They seem like the perfect bar cookie to take along for a picnic.

And now I have a couple of photos of our last TWD recipe assignment, a lovely Lemon Loaf Cake...

I baked along with everyone two weeks ago but just didn't have the time to post on time so thought I'd save my pictures and put them up with the Hungarian Shortbread.

I love lemon loaf and this one was pretty yummy! The kids enjoyed this one as well.  And now one last photo to share, an inside shot of my Mushroom Pizza Rustica that we made a month ago. When I blogged about the recipe I didn't have any photos of a slice of it showing the filling. I took this photo of the leftovers the next day and it had been sitting in my "Cooking Photos" folder of pictures for the last month, so I thought I'd share that one this week too.  Thanks for visiting -- happy baking, everyone :)

 

Salsa and Cheese Sopes

I had heard of sopes before but hadn't tried them and weren't quite sure exactly what they were.  Now I know that they are little masa "boats" or cups that are pretty much made from corn tortilla dough and filled with any kind of Mexican filling you'd like.  I made these on a whim and hadn't done any sope googling, I did that after I made these, just to see if mine looked like what they are supposed to look like, well, after looking at the google image sopes page I've come to the conclusion that I did some major skimping on the filling! These are supposed to be stuffed to the brim with yummy fillings and I barely put anything in them...oh-well! They were still delicious and now that I know better I will make a very well stuffed sope next time I make them :)

Perfectly Simple Sopes (Masa Boats)

Sopes Sencillos

adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexico One Plate at a Time

1 and 3/4 cups powdered masa harina mixed with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water

Salt

About 1/2 cup chopped white onion (I left this off, not an onion fan)
Vegetable oil for the griddle
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
about 3/4 cup salsa (I used Rick's Roasted Tomato and Jalapeno Salsa, recipe below)

about 1/3 cup grated Mexican gueso anejo or other dry grating cheese such as romano or parmesan (I used Cotija, a Mexican grating cheese that I had never tried before this, it is delicious!) About 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Forming and griddle-baking the sopes. Heat a well seasoned or nonstick griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Put the masa (fresh or reconstituted) into a bowl and knead in 3/4 teaspoon salt. If necessary, knead in a few drops of water to give the masa the consistency of soft cookie dough. Divide into 16 pieces, roll into balls and cover with plastic to keep them from drying out.

One by one, form the fat little tortillas that will become the sopes: Line a tortilla press with two pieces of plastic cut to fit the plates (to be on the safe side, cut them from a food storage bag; the thicker plastic usually works better for beginners). Gently press out a flattened ball of dough between the sheets of plastic to about 3 and 1/2 inches in diameter (it should be a little less than 1/4 inch thick). Peel off the top sheet of plastic, flip the fat little tortilla - uncovered side down - onto the fingers of one hand and then gently peel off the second piece of plastic. In one flowing movement, roll the tortilla off your hand and onto the heated griddle or skillet. After about 1 and 1/2 minutes, when the tortilla has loosened itself from the cooking surface and is lightly browned, flip it and cook for another minute or so - this cooking is just to set and brown the surface of the tortilla but not to cook the masa all the way through. While the first tortilla is cooking, continue pressing out others and adding them to the griddle or skillet; just be careful not to leave them on so long that they cook through.

Remove each lightly browned tortilla to a plate. Cool just until handleable, then use your thumb and index finger to pinch up a masa border about 1/2 inch high around then edge of the tortilla - in doing this you are transforming the fat little tortilla into a sope, a little masa boat. Press out the center to uniformly flatten it. Cool the sopes, then cover them with plastic to keep them from drying out. 

2. Finishing the sopes. In a strainer, rinse the onion under cold water, then shake off the excess moisture. Set out the remaining ingredients near the griddle. Heavily oil the skillet or griddle (my 12 inch griddle takes about 1/4 cup to oil it properly) and heat over medium. Fill the griddle with a single uncrowded layers of sopes, flat side down, then brush each one with oil. Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon salsa into each sope, then sprinkle with a little chopped onion, grated cheese and chopped cilantro. Leave on the heat until the bottoms of the sopes begin to crisp and the salsa is warm, 1 to 1 and 1/2 minutes . (You may see the salsa boiling around the edges.) Serve on a warm plate or a wooden board without a moment's hesitation - your guests will love biting into this simple perfection. 

~~~~~

These were really delicious! I'm sure I'll be making sopes often and filling them to the brim with yummy cheese and maybe beans and salsa.  I made half of these with just cheese for the kids since the salsa was quite spicy.  The other plate I made I brought out to the living room for my husband and I to snack on and went back to the kitchen to pass out some to the kids, well by the time I got back picky husband had finished off the whole plate of these!  At first he was a little apprehensive since he doesn't like to try new things but he really liked these.  He is a corn tortilla fan and these had that nice toasty corn scent and flavor so I kind of thought these would be a big hit and they were :)

Here is the recipe for the salsa I made to go with these...

Roasted Jalapeno Tomato Salsa with Cilantro
Rick Bayless - Salsas that Cook
5 cups salsa

3 pounds ripe tomatoes
4-6 jalapeno chiles, stemmed
1 small white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup water (I did not add this, the salsa was plenty fluid without extra water)
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 generous teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1. Heat the broiler. Lay the whole tomatoes and jalapenos out on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Set the pan 4 inches below the broiler and broil for about 6 minutes, until darkly roasted - even blackened in spots - on one side.  With a pair of tongs, flip over the tomatoes and chiles and roast the other side for another 6 minutes or so. The goal is not simply to char the tomatoes and chiles but the cook them through while developing nice roasty flavors. Set aside to cool.

2. Turn the oven down to 425 degrees. Separate the onions into rings. On a similar pan or baking sheet, combine the onion and garlic. Roast in the oven, stirring carefully every couple of minutes, until the onions are beautifully browned and wilted (even have a touch of char on some of the edges) and the garlic is soft and browned in spots, about 15 minutes total. Cool to room temperature.

3. In a food processor, pulse the jalapenos (no need to peel or seed them) with the onion and garlic until moderately finely chopped, scraping everything down with a spatula as needed to keep it all moving around. Scoop into a big bowl. Without washing the processor, coarsely puree the tomatoes - with all the juice that has accumulated around them - and add them to the bowl. Stir in enough water to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency. Stir in the cilantro.  I just processed it all together.

4. Taste and season with salt and vinegar, remembering that this condiment should be a little feisty in its seasoning. If you're planning to use your salsa right away, simply pour into a bowl and it's ready, or refrigerate it covered and use within 5 days.  

~~~~~

The salsa was pretty yummy and very spicy. Picky husband liked it, yay! It was too spicy for the kids.  My only personal thing was not liking the onion, but I know most people like onions so that's my problem :) I think from now on I will leave the onion out unless it gets completely pureed or just use onion powder.  The sopes were awesome and I'm so glad I now know what they are and will be making them often. They were fun to make and were my first time using my new cast iron tortilla press, I've wanted one of those for years and finally got one since IHCC will be cooking Mexican for the next few months! Yum!

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

I made these enchiladas for I Heart Cooking Clubs theme of the week, From the Earth. This recipe has 10 goodies from the earth (tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapenos, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, zucchini, counting the corn in the tortillas and the cilantro), not to mention the cheese and cream from our bovine friends, so I thought it would be the perfect pick this week. This is probably the most in depth Mexican recipe I've ever made.  It was something totally new to me since I'd never cooked with tomatillos before and wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed this dish very much! I'm sure I'll be buying many more tomatillos as we cook through Rick Bayless recipes for the next few months.

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce and Melted Cheese

Rick Bayless -- Fiesta at Rick's

1 lb. (6 to 8) tomatillos, husked and rinsed (thank you Whole Foods, for being the only place to have tomatillos in a 100 mile radius of my house)

1 medium white onion, sliced about ¼ in. thick (even though I don't like onions I did use them in this sauce since I knew they would be pureed)

3 garlic cloves, peeled

Hot green chiles to taste (2 to 3 serranos, or 1 to 2 jalapeños), stemmed

1 1/2 tbs. vegetable oil, plus extra for vegetables and tortillas

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, plus a little extra if needed
1/2 cup Mexican crema, crème fraîche, or heavy whipping cream
8 cups cubed vegetables (about 1/2-in.) -- I used sweet potatoes, parsnips, zucchini, and carrots
Salt
12 corn tortillas
2/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese like asadero, or Monterey Jack or cheddar
Sliced white onion rings, for garnish
Fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (not in the photo but I did use it :) )

Roast tomatillos, sliced onion, garlic, and chiles on rimmed baking sheet 4 in. below preheated broiler until tomatillos are soft and blackened in spots on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn vegetables over; broil about 4 minutes longer. Remove and reduce oven temperature to 400°F.

Scrape tomatillo mixture into food processor or blender. Process until smooth purée. Heat 11/2 tbs. oil in medium-large pot over medium-high heat. When drop of purée sizzles in oil, add remainder of purée. Stir constantly for several minutes until darker and thicker. Add broth and crema, reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Spread cubed vegetables on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and mix to coat evenly. Place in oven and roast, turning vegetables regularly, until crunchy-tender, about 25 minutes (reduce roasting time for broccoli and other green vegetables by 5 to 10 minutes).

If sauce has thickened and is no longer consistency of light cream soup, stir in a little more broth (or water). Taste and season with salt, about 1 tsp. Lightly brush both sides of each tortilla with oil. Stack, wrap in damp paper towels, and microwave on high (100%) for 1 minute to warm and soften.

Spread about 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13-by-9-in. baking dish. I got out my  cast iron fajita pans and made individual plates of three enchiladas, this is how it is served in the book. Working quickly, roll equal portion of roasted vegetables into each tortilla while tortillas are still hot and pliable. Place them side by side in baking dish.

Douse evenly with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake until enchiladas are heated through and cheese begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Garnish with onion rings and cilantro sprigs. Serves 4 to 6.

~~~~~

These were fun to make, I viewed it more of a project recipe, this is not something I'd say to try for a quick weeknight meal, but if you have a few hours of free time in the kitchen to play around with, this was a nice cooking experience.  I made these along side traditional American tacos for the rest of my family since I knew they would not be that interested in trying this.  The kids had a bite of it but did not like it, picky husband was of course a no go since he is not a vegetable fan. It has a neat flavor and everything meshes together really well.  This is like something I'd order at a high end Mexican restaurant.  I made only one serving at a time and just put everything else back in the fridge in individual containers and enjoyed this meal quite a few times over the week (only had to assemble and bake) since I was the only one eating it. If you like veggies and want to try something new (or already love tomatillos or have some adventurous eaters at your table) I would definitely recommend giving this recipe a try! I would make it again for sure, there are so many veggie combinations that sound like they would be delicious in these enchiladas, and it is always more fun to eat off of a fajita skillet :)