Enchiladas Verdes

Did you hear about the new food blog in town? The Food Blog Diary, started by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes and co-creator of No Crouton's Required, exists to showcase "the latest foodie challenges, giveaways and competitions. Spam free!" I resolved earlier this summer to participate in as many blog events as I could, and this will help me keep track of them. I wish I could participate in all of them. Thanks, Jacqueline!

Let's see, what blog event should I send this enchilada recipe to? These enchiladas have a fairly ordinary bean and spinach filling, but the salsa verde takes them over the top. Made with the tomato's small, green cousin, tomatillos, this salsa is tangy and refreshing, with just a bit of heat from a roasted poblano. You can also eat this with tortilla chips, or use it in a stew with seitan, hominy and potatoes. Tomatillos differ from tomatoes in that they grow with a papery husk. They're cooked for salsa verde, but they can also be eaten raw. You can also find them canned.

I think this is perfect for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

Enchiladas Verdes

Salsa Verde

1 poblano pepper
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1/3 cup tightly packed cilantro
2 green onions, white and green parts, chopped
juice of 1 lime, about 2 tablespoons
1/4 teaspoon salt

Set oven to broil, with rack in the topmost position. Place pepper on the top rack with a pan on the rack beneath. Allow broiler to blister the pepper skin, turning pepper to blister all sides. Wrap pepper in waxed paper or a paper bag and allow to cool. The steam from the pepper will loosen the skin. Peel and remove stem and seeds.

Heat a pan of water to almost boiling. Add tomatillos. Simmer until tomatillos are softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse. Keep sauce pan handy.

Purée pepper, tomatillos, cilantro, onion, lime juice and salt. Measure salsa, and if it's much more than two cups, place in sauce pan on stove, and simmer to reduce to about two cups.

The Rest

Authentic enchiladas are made with corn tortillas. Unfortunately, these strange people living in my house only like the flour ones. If you use corn tortillas, instead of spooning a bit of sauce into the bottom of the pan, dip each tortilla into some of the sauce to soften it before rolling it up.

1 10-ounce box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
12 small flour or corn tortillas

Squeeze spinach dry and place in a small bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a skillet. Sauté garlic in oil until fragrant, about two minutes. Spoon about half the garlic into the spinach and stir in the salt.

Add the drained beans to the remaining garlic. Stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil and chili powder. Mash beans with a fork or potato masher.

Heat oven to 350 F. Oil a 9 x 13-inch pan, or two 8 x 8-inch ones. Add a few spoons of sauce to the pan(s) to coat the bottom.

Spread the spinach and beans in a line in each tortilla. Roll up, and place in a single layer in your pan(s). Top with remaining sauce. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Serves 4-6.