Roasted Tomatillo Enchiladas

A tomatillo is a sticky little vegetable that makes great sauces! I learned this technique from Chef Michael Staver, while taking a Culture & Food course at UIC. He adapted this recipe from Rick Bayless' Roasted Tomatillo-Serrano Salsa. When I got the sauce home, I decide to dress them up as a sauce for enchiladas. Ready for a fantastic mid-week dinner? Here we go!

Roasted Tomatillo-Serrano Salsa
12 tomatillos, husked
2-5 serrano chiles (I used 2, which was super spicy for me at the beginning, but as the sauce sat for a few hours, the spicy factor dissipated- I recommend at least 3... 5 if you are not afraid of los picantes!)
1 large onion, cut in half then into semi-circle slices
3 cloves garlic, papery skin removed
1 cup cilantro (stems are OK!)
salt to taste

Preheat an oven to 450 degrees. Line a dark-bottom cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the tomatillos and chilies flat on the sheet and pop in the oven. Turn with tongs when one side is blackened, about 5-8 minutes, and continue roasting other side. When both sides are nicely charred (and hopefully before the tomatillos break and ooze all over the place) place in a large bowl.

If the foil has a lot of business on it, line cookie sheet with new foil. Place the onion slices and garlic cloves on a single layer and roast until blackened. (Roasting the onion and garlic will release the natural sugars and really "kick-up the sauce". As Chef Staver told me- "don't short cut this. You will be happy that you took the time to roast everything perfectly")

Place all the vegetables in a blender, along with cilantro and salt and blend into a coarse puree. Done! Try not to east all of it with chips before making the enchiladas- probably the hardest step of this recipe!

Enchiladas (The lazy version, as I did not have time to soak the beans and cook them)
4-6 flour tortillas 
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can refried beans
1 small onion, chopped
olive oil
1/4 cup queso fresco

Line a pan with olive oil and saute onion until translucent. Rinse the garbanzo and black beans and place into pan with onion and cook until hot. Season with salt & pepper.

Take 1 Tbsp refried beans and smear on each tortilla. place a spoonful or two of the bean mixture in each tortilla and roll. Pick up all the beans that fell on the floor. Continue to not figure out that the beans will spill out of the tortillas and curse at them.

Spoon some of the Tomatillo Salsa on the bottom of a 8x8 casserole dish. Place each tortilla in the pan, nestled closely to one another- make them snug. Place more tomatillo salsa on top of the enchiladas.

Cover the pan loosely with foil and turn oven down to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for an additional 10 or so minutes until cheese is nice n' bubbly!

Radishes!

September 27, 2011

Recipe #1 on the blog! It features radishes, both the greens as well as the bulbs! Well, it's actually 2 recipes. One is from Martha Stuart and the other from Food & Wine. 

This summer, I joined a produce share at my local grocery store, The Green Grocer. This is my first time partaking in something like this, so it has been adventurous to say the least. What I enjoy about it is that it allows me to cook things I normally would never before: the leafy part of a root vegetable. In my previous cooking life, I would have just practiced the good old 'merican tradition of chucking that right into the trash, along with disposable plates, napkins, silverware, etc. But, I decided the landfills are making enough money off of me, and that the leafy part might be actually good.

But, how to eat it? Luckily, the Green Grocer sends recipes to go along with the produce. This week featured "Radish Greens Soup," it's very similar to potato leek soup, but with a slight sharp kick from the radish greens.

But, cutting off the greens, I am left with the radishes, as well as a half a bag of potatoes, so I found "Baby Potato Salad with Radishes and Celery" that would use the rest of my ingredients. The potato salad had a very light white wine vinegar dressing, which was perfect for warm, late summer evening (I know the blog date is January 23, but I made this September 27. Yes, apparently it takes me 4 months to write a couple paragraphs)

Finally, before we get to the good part (the actual recipe!) I decided to pair the Raphanus sativus laden meal with a bright and earthy Cava. I had the Argila Cava from Mas Bertran in the Penedès region in Spain.

Radish Greens Soup

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 bunches radish greens (about 2 cups), cleaned
• 3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into1/2-inch dice
• 4 1/2 cups Vegetable Stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
•  3 radishes, thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a medium stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onions, and saute until transparent, about 4 minutes. Add radish greens, and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken stock, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
2. Working in batches, pass the mixture through a food mill into a medium bowl. Stir in cream, and season with salt and pepper. Strain the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the original pot. Bring soup just to a simmer over medium heat. Serve garnished with radish slices.

Baby Potato Salad with Radishes and Celery

Ingredients

• 3 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes or fingerling potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup
• White wine vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 celery hearts, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
• 2 bunches radishes, thinly sliced
• 8 small scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced (1 cup)
  
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Slice the potatoes 1/2 inch thick.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in the potatoes and celery. Let stand at room temperature until cool, about 30 minutes. Just before serving, fold in the radishes and scallions and season with salt and pepper. 
     

  Radish Greens Soup: (http://www.marthastewart.com/315163/radish-greens-soup?czone=food/produce-guide-cnt/spring-produce-recipes&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/radish-recipes#slide_21)

  Potato Salad with Radishes: (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baby-potato-salad-with-radishes-and-celery)