Our good friend Troy is something of a gardening superstar, churning out all kinds of delicious produce in his backyard plots. He had a bumper crop of tomatillos this year and was kind enough to drop around a handful for us to work our magic on. Even more kindly, he'd already blogged a great recipe to turn tomatillos into salsa verde.
The sauce is deliciously tangy - tomatillos have an almost citrussy kind of flavour, which is boosted by the lime. The coriander, jalapeno and garlic add a bit of depth and bite to it all, resulting in a wonderfully tasty salsa. First up we just used it as a topping for refried bean burritos but it was a bit on the runny side, so we reconsidered its ideal use. I figured it would be great baked onto some enchiladas and, after some quick googling, we came up with this recipe, which had the added bonus of using up some leftover poblano chillies from our last Mexican cook-up.
It's a very simple recipe - especially when you've pre-made the tomatillo sauce and use store-bought tortillas rather than making your own corn ones. Some quick frying of the filling and half an hour in the oven and you've got a tangy, spicy and immensely satisfying serve of enchiladas. Both the tomatillo salsa and the poblanos have an interesting spiciness - there's a rich warmth, without any of the burn that you can get from chilli-heavy meals. Pretty damn excellent.
Salsa Verde
(courtesy of In the Mood for Noodles, originally from Veganomicon)
8 tomatillos, roughly diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
A forkful of pickled jalapeno pieces
1.5 cups of Massel 'chicken' stock
Juice of a lime
1 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
In a small pot, heat the oil and cook the jalapeno and garlic for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomatillos and cook for about 8 minutes, until they soften. Pour in the stock and bring the mix to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave the sauce to cool down and then add the lime juice and coriander. Blend, until everything is combined in a saucy liquid.
Spinach, mushroom and poblano enchiladas
(adapted from For the Love of Cooking)
About half of the salsa verde from the above recipe
1 tablespoon olive oil
A dozen button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 small brown onion, chopped 1 poblano pepper (from a can, courtesy of Casa Iberica)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 tortillas
2/3 cup grated cheddar
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and then add the mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring periodically, until they're nicely browned. Add the onion and poblano and cook, stirring regularly, for another few minutes. Add the garlic, the spinach, spices, salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for another couple of minutes. Kill the heat and let the filling cool for 10 minutes or so.
Next, stuff the tortillas - sprinkle grated cheese down the middle of each one and spoon the filling on top. Wrap and place them (seam down) in a greased baking tray. Slather the tortillas with the salsa verde and cover the baking tray in foil. Bake for 20 minutes and serve.
I'm sure these would be great with a side salad or some refried beans, but we just ate them on their own and had no complaints at all.
8 tomatillos, roughly diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
A forkful of pickled jalapeno pieces
1.5 cups of Massel 'chicken' stock
Juice of a lime
1 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
In a small pot, heat the oil and cook the jalapeno and garlic for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomatillos and cook for about 8 minutes, until they soften. Pour in the stock and bring the mix to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave the sauce to cool down and then add the lime juice and coriander. Blend, until everything is combined in a saucy liquid.
Spinach, mushroom and poblano enchiladas
(adapted from For the Love of Cooking)
About half of the salsa verde from the above recipe
1 tablespoon olive oil
A dozen button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 small brown onion, chopped 1 poblano pepper (from a can, courtesy of Casa Iberica)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 tortillas
2/3 cup grated cheddar
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and then add the mushrooms. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring periodically, until they're nicely browned. Add the onion and poblano and cook, stirring regularly, for another few minutes. Add the garlic, the spinach, spices, salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for another couple of minutes. Kill the heat and let the filling cool for 10 minutes or so.
Next, stuff the tortillas - sprinkle grated cheese down the middle of each one and spoon the filling on top. Wrap and place them (seam down) in a greased baking tray. Slather the tortillas with the salsa verde and cover the baking tray in foil. Bake for 20 minutes and serve.
I'm sure these would be great with a side salad or some refried beans, but we just ate them on their own and had no complaints at all.
Really want to try tomatillos. Those enchiladas look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteHi leaf! I wonder if they might be sold at markets? You can definitely get canned ones at Casa Iberica!
DeleteThese look really yummy. I wonder how tomatillos would go up here...
ReplyDeleteIt could be worth a try! I just read that they're not very self-compatible so you'd want to grow at least two. :-)
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