When I’m asked “what’s your favourite Mexican recipe to make”, my reply without hesitation is enchiladas. There is a lot to love about their make and bake simplicity – fill a tortilla with your favourite filling, roll it up, cover with a spicy sauce and bake. No one knows exactly who was the first person to wrap a tortilla, fill it, and eat it, but the practice originated with the ancient Aztecs. The term enchilada means “in chile,” which refers to the tortilla being dipped into red chile sauce before being filled and eaten. Here is one of my popular vegetarian versions.
INGREDIENTS
Enchilada sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flour
1/4 cup chili powder
2 cups vegetable broth
300 grams Passata sauce
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Enchiladas:
1 cup corn kernels (frozen will work fine)
2 cups Jasmine rice (or other medium to long-grain rice)
1 white or brown onion, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 cup Passata sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
6 corn tortillas (6 inches) or 6 flour tortillas (8 inches)
3/4 cup shredded California Monterey Jack Cheese (or shredded Mexican cheese blend)
One cup chopped lettuce
Richie’s California Style Fresh Salsa
PREPARATION
Enchilada sauce:
To make the enchilada sauce, heat oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add flour and stir, smoothing it out. Cook for about 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for additional 30 seconds. Add vegetable broth, passata and remaining ingredients and stir. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook until the flavours deepen (approx. 15 mins more).
Spread thin layer of enchilada sauce over the bottom of a ceramic backing dish. If you are short on time, you can use cheater’s enchilada sauce (store-bought enchilada sauce).
Enchiladas:
Combine corn, rice, vegetable broth, water, passata, cumin, black pepper and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Take off heat and cool for 3 minutes.
Corn tortillas are traditional for enchiladas, but flour tortillas also work. Make sure you check the tortilla ingredients – some flour tortillas use lard so I would advise to stay away from these. Warm tortillas over a hotplate – 5 seconds on each side should be enough. Spoon 1/2 cup rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. To serve, top enchiladas with a few spoonfuls of the fresh salsa (mild, medium or hot) and chopped lettuce.
