Monday, May 17, 2010

Daring Cooks Challenge: Spicy Green Chile, Two Bean, and Zucchini Enchilada Bake

Spicy Enchiladas are always a welcome treat and home made ones do taste the best!! Barbara and Bunnee gave us a fabulous May 2010 Daring Cooks Challenge. My version of this recipe included the home made corn tortillas, a green chile sauce, two bean and zucchini filling mix, and grated basil-tomato cheese! For the Green Chile Sauce, I broiled the chiles and the tomatillos in the oven but added no onions or garlic in it. For the filling, I made a vegetarian mix of two beans, zucchini, tomato, and fresh corn, with loads of onion and garlic. The tortillas were easy to make and came out very soft and delicious. I did not fry before baking. I made the bake more like a baked lasagna dish, lining the baking pan with the tortillas rather than making individual stacks. It was easy to cut through the bake for individual sized portions. This is a great recipe and we really enjoyed it. I will definitely make this dish again!!
Ingredients for Green Chile Sauce:
2-3 fresh Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, deseeded, chopped
1 Jalapeno chile, roasted, peeled, deseeded, chopped
4 tomatillos, roasted, peeled, stem removed
2 cups Homemade Vegetable Stock
Pinch, cumin
 Salt, to taste
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tbsp water

For Bean-Zucchini Mix:
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium sized yellow onion, minced
Your Favourite Hot sauce, optional
1 can black beans, drained and washed
1 can great northern beans, drained and washed
1 zucchini, cubed
1 tomato, minced
1/2 cup fresh corn niblets
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp dried oregano
To Assemble the Bake:
6 Small Corn tortillas (5-6 inch/13-15 cm)
Bean Zucchini Mix
Green Chile Sauce 
1/2 cup cheese, grated(I used a Basil-tomato cheese for extra flavour)
Cilantro for garnish, chopped and sprinkled optional

How to Roast Fresh Chiles:
  1. Chop the stem off the chile. Using a knife, make a single slit down the length of the chile. Coat each chile with a little vegetable oil.
  2. Lay the oiled chiles on the grill or baking sheet (line pan with foil for simpler clean-up). Place the grill or broil close to the element, turning the chiles so they char evenly. They should be black and blistered.
  3. As they are completely charred (they will probably not all be done at once), remove them to a bowl and cover with plastic, or close up in a paper bag. Let them rest until they are cool.
  4. Open the chile and remove the seeds. Turn the chile skin side up and with a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Sometimes it just pulls right off, sometimes you really have to scrape it.
  5. Do not rinse the roasted chiles.
Green Chile Sauce:
  1. Grill the tomatillos along with the chiles until soft.
  2. Drain the juices of the grilled tomatillo along with the tomatillo into a blender or food processor. Cool and then puree.
  3. Place the pured tomatillos in a saucepan along with the vegetable stock, chopped green chiles, a pinch of roasted cumin, salt and pepper.
  4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and reduced another 10-15 minutes.
  6. Adjust seasonings.
Bean-Zucchini Mix:
  1. Heat oil in a pan. Add minced garlic and onion. Fry until transparent.
  2. Add the beans, zucchini, corn, and tomatoes.
  3. Add the salt, pepper, hot sauce, and oregano. Blend well. 
  4. Reduce heat, cover and cook for around 10 minutes.
Corn Tortillas (from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen):
Makes about 15

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups masa harina
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot water

Method:
  1. Pour hot water over masa harina, cover and let sit 30 minutes. Add (additional) cool water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft but not sticky. Divide the dough into 15 balls and cover with plastic wrap.
  2. Heat a large (two burner) ungreased griddle or two large skillets, one on medium-low and one on medium-high.
  3. Put a ball of dough between two sheets of plastic. If you don’t have a tortilla press, press to a 5-6” circle using a heavy frying pan or bread board or other heavy, flat object. Put the tortilla into the cooler pan or cooler end of the griddle. The tortilla will probably stick, but within 15 seconds, if the temperature is correct, it will release. 
  4. Flip it at that point onto the hotter skillet/griddle section. In 30-45 seconds, it should be dotted with brown underneath. Flip it over, still on the hot surface and brown another 30 seconds or so. 
  5. A good tortilla will balloon up at this point. Remove from heat and let them rest while cooking the remaining tortillas. Use quickly.
Spicy Green Chile, Two Bean, and Zucchini Enchilada Bake:
  1. Heat and oven to 300F.
  2. In a baking dish ladle a thin layer of sauce.
  3. Lay two tortillas in the dish and ladle another 1/4 cup of the chile sauce over the tortillas.
  4. Spoon 1/3 of the bean-zucchini mix, sprinkle with a little cheese, and a ladle of green chile sauce again.
  5. Place two fresh tortillas, repeat with sauce, filling mix, cheese, and sauce in that order. Repeat once again.
  6. Bake until the sauce has thickened and the cheese melted, about 10-12  minutes. Remove the bake from the oven and rest for 2-4 minutes.
  7. Serve individual sized portions. Spoon any leftover sauce over the stacks and sprinkle with cilantro, if you wish. The stacks may also be cooked in individual gratin dishes.
Post Script: Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.
Vegan Substitute: Try a non-dairy tofu/soy melting cheese as a substitute for the cheese in this recipe.
All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2010. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

19 comments:

  1. That does look so delicious and using a veggie filling so is tasty (I love beans) well done on this challenge and I love how you did a 'lasagna' style I think this is best really. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

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  2. Spicy and so nutritious with Beans and all. I would love it for Sunday lunch. Looks delish.

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  3. Your filling sounds delish! Thanks for cooking with us this month. I didn't see the blogcheck lines in your post. You need to add them exactly to the post so that you get credit for a completed challenge. FYI

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  4. omg, wat a fabulous and wholesome dish, truly tempting..

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  5. Looks delish and healthy! And easy for a weeknight dinner - great take on this recipe.

    Donna

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  6. That looks so good! The 2 bean filling looks delicious! Great job :)

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  7. yummm!!!looks delish...anything mexican for me!!

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  8. Love the filling. Yummy!!! Looks very simple recipe. Love to try it sometime..

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  9. Wow the whole platter looks so inviting and delicious...good one :)

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  10. Apu, this looks amazing dear. Wow, I would love to eat it.

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  11. Interesting combination of flavors, looks inviting!

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  12. Wow, that looks super delicious, the pictures are making me very hungry..

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  13. What a fantastic vegetarian version, love the filling combinations.

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  14. It's definitely time to try a green chile sauce. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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  15. This looks great and surely tastes good too. Looks mouth watering!

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  16. wonderful recipe..nice clicks..thanks for sharing!!

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  17. Makes me hungry now! Very nice recipe!

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