October 29, 2008

Tomatillo Sauce...and other things

Sorry guys, no photos this time. I'm posting this recipe real quick for reference. We'll all probably have photos in a little bit.

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh tomatillos
1/2 small red onion, very finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 Serrano or other hot green chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 to 2 Tbs. cilantro leaves, chopped
Sugar, if needed
Mild Vinegar to taste
Salt

Roast the tomatillos in a 400F oven until they start to crisp, about 30 minutes, maybe. Make sure to turn them over every 10 minutes or so. After they are done, drop them, the onion, garlic, chilies, cilantro, vinegar, and salt into a food processor. Food process the hell out of all of this until it is sauce-like (blender may work better). Give it a taste and if too sour, add some sugar.

The flavor can be deepened by sauteing the onions in butter before they go into the blend. This should cut the sharpness of the onion and thus the overall sauce.

And we're done.

But...some quick words on low fat enchiladas:
1. Substitute hummus (homemade) for the cheese.
Hummus:
1 can chickpeas
1 Tbs. tahini
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. lemon juice
salt
water
Work it all in a food processor until spreadable. Good with other things beside enchiladas of course.

2. Make your own low fat beans or chili.
Quick and easy Black Bean Chili:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 can black beans
1/2 small red onion
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
1 garlic clove, crushed
water
Saute the onion and garlic in the oil for a few minutes, add the spices and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the beans and water, bring to a boil then lower and let the water cook away. Should be left with a very viscous black bean chili in about 10-15 minutes.

I like to stack my enchiladas instead of roll them. Cover the bottom of your dish with some sauce and lay down some tortillas to cover. Spread on some hummus, then some chili. More tortillas, then sauce, then hummus and chili. Make sure to end with a layer of tortillas covered in sauce. Sarah and I are bad because we then spread mozzarella all over the top of it. We can't help ourselves. If you keep the cheese off this can actually be vegan...amazing.

2 comments:

  1. Jeff, what a great idea stacking the enchilads instead of rolling them; it makes a kind of enchilada lasanga!

    And your tomatillo sauce sounds so good!

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