Vegetarian Calabacitas Enchiladas

February 17, 2021

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Green Chile Sauce:
• 3 large jalapeno peppers, stem removed
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• ½ yellow onion, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup cilantro, stems removed
• 2 118-mL cans diced green chiles
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 ½ cups water

For the Filling:
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup yellow onion, diced
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeds and stems removed, diced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large zucchini, diced (about 3 cups)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
• 1 field tomato, seeds removed, diced
• 1 ½ cups Red Barn Jalapeno Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 package Adriana’s Corn Tortillas (12 tortillas)

For the Garnish:
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves
• ½ jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 limes, sliced into wedges

Directions:

Preparing the Green Chile Sauce:
1. Set the oven to broil and move the oven rack near the top of the oven, making sure there is enough space to fit the vegetables underneath the broiler.
2. Place the jalapeno peppers, garlic cloves and yellow onion onto the baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Use your hands to coat all sides of the vegetables with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Place the baking sheet in the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes per side, until the vegetables are brown and blistered. Repeat this process until all sides of the vegetables are blistered and have softened slightly.
4. Remove the vegetables from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. Place them into a blender with the skin still on. Add the cilantro, canned diced green chiles, cumin, oregano, and water to the blender. Blend everything together until smooth.
5. Place a small pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the green chile sauce to the pot and bring the contents of the pot to a boil. After the sauce is boiling, reduce the heat to low and let simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the sauce reduces by 1/3 and thickens up. Stir occasionally to ensure the sauce does not burn. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preparing the Enchilada Filling:
6. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the diced jalapenos, onion, salt and pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the peppers and onions have softened and are beginning to turn a light golden brown. Add the chopped garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.
7. Add the diced zucchini into the pan and mix everything together. Cook the zucchini for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the zucchini softens and begins to turn a light golden brown. Add the corn kernels and the tomato and cook for another 2 minutes.
8. Remove the filling from the heat and add ½ cup of the shredded Jalapeno Monterey Jack cheese and sour cream. Mix everything to combine and let cool slightly before filling the tortillas.

Assembling & Baking the Enchiladas:
9. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pour ½ cup of the green chile sauce into the bottom of a 9×12 inch baking dish and spread it out so that the bottom of the dish is covered in sauce. Set aside for now.
10. Next, prepare the tortillas. Place a frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add one tortilla at a time to the pan, toasting it for 30 seconds to 1 minute per side to heat them up and make them softer for rolling.
11. Once the tortilla has been toasted, place ¼ cup of the zucchini filling in a line across the center of the toasted tortilla. Roll the tortilla around the filling and place it seam-side down into the baking dish. Repeat this process for the rest of the tortillas.
12. Once all the tortillas have been assembled and are in the baking dish, pour an additional 1-2 cups of the green chile sauce on top of the enchiladas to cover them.
13. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of Jalapeno Monterey Jack cheese over the top of the enchiladas and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the green chile sauce is bubbling.
14. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing the enchiladas from the pan.
15. Garnish the cilantro, jalapenos, red onion, avocado, radish and a wedge of lime. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• You can remove the seeds from the jalapeno peppers if you want a milder green chile sauce. Alternatively, you can one or two serrano peppers if you would like it to be spicier.
• You can make this green chile sauce ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for 1 week. Any leftovers go great on eggs or as a dipping sauce for nachos.
• These enchiladas are best assembled and eaten on the same day—do not assemble in advance.