Foodblogging: Spinach and Corn Enchiladas Verdes

Dan had opened a jar of salsa verde last night for a spontaneous quesadilla snack so I got to make one of my favorite foods of all time today: enchiladas verdes. I cleaned a few things out of my freezer for this one and I'm extremely happy with the way it turned out. I usually do enchiladas the traditional way by deep-frying the tortillas but I went with a healthier and less messy alternative today. My goal was to have a minimum of dishes to clean up.

I even took neato how-to photos along the way. Drool, suckas.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Halve 2 garlic cloves and cook until they're just a little golden. Crank up the heat, then dump in 1/4 red onion, 2 green onions, and 1/2 cup corn. Cook this until the onions are soft. It takes at least 5 minutes.


When the onions are good and soft you can single out the garlic cloves and smash them with your utensil. They should turn into garlic paste with little effort.

Add 10 oz of frozen spinach that you've defrosted and squeezed dry. Cook until the spinach is incorporated and you get a little color on those onions. Transfer all this goodness to a medium bowl to cool off a little.

While your veggies are cooling, heat your oven to 450. Put a wire cooling rack on a sheet pan and put two tortillas on those. You can use two pans and two racks like I did or you can do the tortillas in batches. Spray the tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Pop in the oven for 5-6 minutes, just until they're a tiny bit crispy (but not brittle) and poofy. They shouldn't be browned.

Like this.

Meanwhile, add 2 Tbsp sour cream...

...and 3/4 cup cheese (I used Marble Jack but this would be awesomer with Oaxaca or Enchilada cheese... or whatever you like) to the filling...

...and stir to combine into a cheesy lump. By the way -- shred your cheese by hand, you pussies. It tastes a million times better than that bagged lowest-common-denominator shit with whatever that anti-caking bullshit is all over it. Buy a box grater and invest the 60 seconds it takes to grate a cup of cheese.

Dump a bottle of salsa verde into the same pan you used for your veggies and heat it up.

Knock the heat back to a simmer and dip your tortillas in, slathering both sides. Set them back on your cookie sheet.

After the tortilla dippage you'll have way less salsa. Add about 1/2 cup veggie or chicken broth. I pulled a chunk out of the freezer and just plopped it in. I usually freeze my broth in more manageable cubes or bags but this particular load got defrosted and jammed back in the freezer in a big lump. I had to whack off this chunk on the counter. Once everything is incorporated you can turn the heat off.

Divide your filling into four parts and fill and wrap the tortillas.

I was feeling decadent so I added 2 more Tbsp of sour cream to the salsa-broth mixture.

Mmm...saucy. At this point you could add some meltable cheese and make a wicked good cheese sauce. But I didn't.

Pour the sauce over the tortillas and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Put this under the broiler for about 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it every 60 seconds.

Yeah, dude.

Spinach and Corn Enchiladas Verdes

1/4 of a red onion, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeeze dry
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 7" tortillas
3 oz or so Marble Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
16 oz salsa verde

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Halve the garlic cloves and cook until they're just a little golden. Crank up the heat, then dump in the red onion, green onions, and corn. Cook this until the onions are soft. It takes at least 5 minutes. When the onions are soft, smash the soft garlic with the back of a spoon. They should turn into garlic paste with little effort. Add spinach. Cook until the spinach is incorporated and onions carmelize a bit. Transfer filling to a medium bowl to cool.

Heat oven to 450. Put a wire cooling rack on a sheet pan and put two tortillas on those. You can use two pans and two racks or you can do the tortillas in batches. Spray the tortillas on both sides with cooking spray. Pop in the oven for 5-6 minutes, just until they're a tiny bit crispy (but not brittle) and poofy. They shouldn't be browned. If you don't have wire racks, flip the tortillas after two minutes.

Meanwhile, add 2 Tbsp sour cream and 3/4 cup cheese to and stir to combine. Divide your filling into four parts. Put filling down center of tortillas and bring up both sides (or roll). You can do all this on the same cookie sheet.

Dump a bottle of salsa verde into the same pan you used for your veggies and heat it up. Reduce to a simmer and dip your tortillas in, slathering both sides. Set them back on your cookie sheet. Add about 1/2 cup veggie or chicken broth to remaining salsa in pan. Turn heat off. Add 2 Tbsp sour cream and combine.

Pour the sauce over the tortillas and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Put this under the broiler for about 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it every 60 seconds.


Serves: 2
Calories: 737
Fat: 33
Carbs: 88
Protein: 26

Note: this is NOT diet food. You should probably stay away from this if you have issues with sodium because jarred salsa verde is chock full. Or make your own salsa verde.