Meatless Mondays - Vegetarian Enchiladas

Ok, so it's not the prettiest dish I've ever made, but it's quite tasty. In keeping with Cinco de Mayo, AND Meatless Mondays, I opted for a vegetarian Mexican dish. I googled some recipes and came across Emeril's recipe for spinach enchiladas. I made some changes, and it worked wonderfully!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb kale

3 poblano peppers (about half a pound)

small yellow onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 lb mushrooms, minced

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Pinch of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup flour

1 cup quest blanco, cubed

Half a 19 oz. can of enchilada sauce 

1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

10-12 corn tortillas 

1) Char the poblano peppers under the broiler for 8-10 minutes until it's charred on all sides.

2) When they're cool enough to handle, peel off the charred skin. It should come off very easily.

3) Split the pepper in half to remove the seeds. Mince the peppers and set aside.

4) Boil the kale in boiling water for 2 minutes, and then immediately blanch it in ice water for 15 seconds.

5) Squeeze the excess water from the kale and then chop in very small pieces, set aside.

6) Sauté the onions, mushroom and garlic in the butter for about 3 minutes until onions are soft.

7) Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne and a shake of salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute.

9) Add flour and milk, working to a thick roux-like consistency. 

10) Add the spinach and chopped poblano peppers, and fold in the quest blanco. (Don't worry if the cheese doesn't melt all the way, it'll continue to cook in the oven.)

11) At this point the filling is done. Add more seasoning until you get the taste you like.

12) Heat the corn tortillas on a flat surface, just enough so they no longer break apart easily.

13) Scoop about a 1/2 cup of the filling per tortilla. Roll the tortilla in thirds and place it flap-side down in the dish. (I was able to fit 8 tortillas in a 9x13 dish.)

14) After the Pyrex is filled, pour the enchilada sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with cheese.

15) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

16) Serve with sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro.

A bit time consuming, but pretty tasty. I'll be keeping this one in my repertoire.