Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Creamy Green Enchiladas

So I realize there are many, many versions (vegan and very NON-vegan) of green chile enchiladas out there, filled with all manner of whatever you want - but this just happens to be the recipe I've been making for my kids forever; it's easy, requested frequently, has many variations (using whatever veggies suit your fancy) and I thought perhaps it was worth sharing, especially since fresh, fire-roasted green chiles are showing up in New Mexico farmers markets about now and I'm SO jealous that I'm not there to indulge....

OK, so this recipe does tend to read like an endorsement for New Mexico chile peppers and products, (and it's one of the few recipes I depend so heavily on canned, packaged products since I can't actually GET freshly roasted green chiles easily - except when I'm lucky enough to be hanging out with my amazing friends in the Southwest) but I have to admit, canned enchilada sauce makes this recipe quick, easy, and delicious.


I DO know the Whole Foods stores in Seattle are starting to be all trendy and make a big deal of how they're roasting fresh Hatch chiles - if you happen to see them crank up the roaster, BUY SOME!!!

Seriously, I don't think you should use any other chiles if you want REALLY amazing enchiladas. I particularly like the creamy sauce in this recipe as it's rich enough that no fake-cheezy products are needed.

Green Chile Enchiladas

Sauce:

1 can Hatch Green Chile Enchilada sauce (use whatever green enchilada sauce you like, but this is, hands-down, a million times better than any other)
1 carton Better Than Sour Cream
OR use THIS RECIPE for tofu sour cream
1/4 cup soy/rice/whatever milk
1/4 cup minced white (or green) onions

Mix sour cream, enchilada sauce, soy milk and onions together and set aside. If you want, you can stir some additional chopped roasted green chiles into the sauce to taste. (see below)

Filling:

2 cups of your favorite veg. "chicken" product, shredded or chopped (gardein or Morning Star Meal Starters, for example)
OR use THIS RECIPE for tofu-style "chicken" (baked, not fried)
1/2 cup chopped, fire-roasted New Mexico green chiles (fresh, or I use the frozen Bueno Foods brand, you can use whatever aproximation you have available though canned ones are slimy and tasteless in my opinion)
1 cup cooked white beans
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp. garlic salt or to taste
(optional) 1 cup cooked, chopped greens - spinach, chard or kale
(optional) 1 cup chopped, sauteed mushrooms, zucchini or summer squash
(optional) black olives

Mix filling ingredients together.

To assemble:

One by one, warm corn tortillas (or flour tortillas if you prefer) in an oiled frying pan until pliable, lay on clean plate and put several tablespoons of filling down the center and roll up. Place in 8 X 12 oiled glass or ceramic baking pan, seam side down. Continue until pan is full, you can "squish" the row of rolled enchiladas together as needed if you have lots of filling to use. If you have leftover filling, spoon it around the edges.

Cover with creamy green sauce, poking it down around all enchiladas so they're covered and surrounded.
Cover pan with foil.

Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly in center - about 45 min. Remove foil and broil JUST for a minute to get top a little brown.
Sprinkle with more cilantro and some minced onion, if desired, and serve.
Yummmmmmm!!



4 comments:

Kendy P said...

those look so good!

sara said...

those enchiladas look amazing! here, my family waits all year for the hatch chile festival. this year's festival just started, and we can't wait to get our hands on those chiles!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this recipe. I have also made it with veggie ground round. Absolutely YUM ! I have no access to the Hatch chiles locally so I pick up cans when I travel.
Thank you for this recipe.

Jen said...

Thanks for this recipe! I can't believe I get to meet you in person in just one week--yay! I spent a month in Taos during college and had green chile sauce every day. Every. Day! This sounds like a great dish when the weather starts to cool off.