Sexy Enchiladas

I made enchiladas, and fell in love at first bite.

"Enchi-lot-a love"

Warm tortillas stuffed with spices, smothered in homemade special sauce, and blanketed with cheese - these were the main components of my seductive enchiladas. However, this love story began with the making of Perfect Pintos in my slow cooker. These lovely beans became the main ingredient, and inspiration, of my filling.  In truth, however, any vegetable, legume, or cooked meat that you desire (or must purge from your refrigerator) may be used.  The recipe, posted below, appears wordy but hopefully my pictures convince you otherwise. 

Once you have identified your filling ingredients (in my case, traditional Mexican staples of beans and maize), cook them with sizzled onions and garlic. 

Pinto-maize filling with dried cilantro scattered on top.

Then, prepare some special sauce. 

Special sauce. 

Let some prepared sauce and shredded cheese mingle with the lonely filling mixture. Adjust seasonings as necessary.  Now, pre-heat that oven. As you do so, sneak some tortillas (flour in my case) in there to soften. Esta bien! 

Some Assembly Required: 

1. Pour some special sauce in a baking pan to coat.

2. Fill each tortilla with a large spoonful of filling.

3. Give that tortilla a roll in some sauce.

4. Repeat until there is no more room.

5. Pour the remaining special sauce over the backs of the stuffed tortillas.

6. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and accessorize with jalapenos (optional).

7. Bake-up some anticipation. 

In the heat of the oven, sauce and cheese envelope all other ingredients in a tasty embrace.  Top with shredded lettuce, sour cream, lime wedges, or whatever you fancy, and you'll soon be falling in love with an enchilada, too! Perhaps their particular lure has something to do with spicy cayenne kisses that linger.  Beckoning you back to the table for another... just one more... bite.   

Sexy Enchiladas

Inspired from Culinate

Olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

Salt to taste

6 gloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, or 2 cups pre-made

1/4 cup chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 cans crushed tomatoes, or 3 cups tomato sauce

1 cup beef broth

Fresh ground pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped or 1 Tbsp. dried

2 cups (8 ounces) grated cheese (sharp cheddar great)

6 larger -12 small tortillas, corn or flour

Cooking spray 

Filling Part 1:  In a large pan, saute onions and a few shakes of salt in a few tablespoons olive oil until transparent. Add about 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add corn kernels and cook until heated through. Then do the same for the beans (canned or slow-cooked). Turn off heat and set aside. If you desire to throw in spinach or another leafy green, add now and stir until wilted.

Sauce: In medium pan, add another tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium-high setting. Add the rest of the minced garlic and a few shakes salt and cook until garlic is fragrant but not browning. Add chili powder, cumin, coriander, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, plus broth. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 15-20 minutes. Flavors will develop during this time. Add salt and pepper as necessary.

Filling Part 2: Add 1/2 cup sauce, cilantro, and 1 cup shredded cheese to the bean and corn mixture. Stir until well mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Assembly:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. During this time, fan tortillas on a large baking sheet and spray both sides with a bit of cooking spray. Bake until soft (about 3 minutes).  Evenly coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with a thin layer of sauce (about 1/2 cup). Working one at a time, spread about 1/3 cup filling mixture down the center, roll tightly, and set it (seem side down) into the baking dish. Repeat until the pan is full (or until you use up all tortillas or filling). Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and spread to coat each evenly. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and jalapenos (optional) over the tortillas. Cover the dish loosely with foil.

Baking: Bake on the upper rack of the oven until cheese is melted (about 15 minutes), then uncover and cook another 15 minutes until cheese is bubbling and slightly crispy. 

Finishing touches: Serve enchiladas sprinkled with fresh cilantro or as is. Garnish with your favorite enchilada accessory. Napkins come highly recommended. 

Optional garnishes:

Lime wedges, sliced radishes, avocado, jalapenos, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and/or hot sauce, baby!

Queso Besos

My mentor has recently flown me and one of my Zambian companions, Kara, to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT for short) in Texcoco, Mexico! Our 10-day trip has been a crash coarse in maize breeding research. Since maize is the overriding theme of my thesis work, I am enjoying this trip because it allows me to get to know maize on a more intimate level. I've walked the neat rows of stalks ready for harvest with the hot sun on the back of my neck, breathing the dusty air from the dry clay from which it grew. Kara and I have learned how to score the maize cobs for color, texture and "sexiness".  Although the maize here is selectively bred, or biofortified, with various nutrients (such as provitamin A that turns the cobs bright orange) for future dissemination into other parts of the world, maize is extremely important to Mexico. In fact, it originated from here! There are corn tortillas, chips, tamales and even novel corn-based cereal flavors like Coco Zucaritas (chocolate corn flakes staring Tigre Tono).  

Sexy, orange CIMMYT maize.
Celaya, Mexico.

Farm-to-table food.
Tortillas prepared from orange maize.

The pictures above are an example of some of the maize that we harvested, as well as the final edible product. A trademark of many Mexican corn products is nixtamilization, aka treatment with lime. So for our "End-of-Harvest Fiesta", the workers nixtamilized some of our orange corn and prepared traditional corn tortillas for the meal. I was so impressed by the vibrant color of the cooked product. Maize is a-maize-ing!

But of course maize isn't the only food that Mexico has to offer. There are peppers, tequila, cactus, tomatillos, and carnitas. I had a diverse tour of Mexico cuisine, trying my best to taste the most exotic things. Below you will see a photographic description of my food adventures. And for the record, no food illness yet (knock on wood).  I think Andrew Zimmerman would be pretty proud of this Midwestern girl!  When I get back to my Madison kitchen I will set out to find the perfect homemade Salsa verde and Margarita recipes.

Rabbit cooked in cactus skin.
Tlaltizapan, Mexico. 

Beef (tongue, intestines, stomach, and ears), goat, salsa verde, tortillas.
Harvest Fiesta in Celaya, Mexico.

Cactus fruit (tuna).
"One too many will plug you up."
Celaya, Mexico.

Kara and Magic fruit.
Sherbet-like flesh with large brown seeds.
Celaya, Mexico.

Pan-fried Caterpillers
Tlaltizapan, Mexico

Mystery fruits. Very bitter!
Celaya, Mexico.

Final words: "Los besos saben con quesos"
This is an expression taught to me by a local here. It literally translates to "kisses taste like cheese."  It is a funny rhyme, really, but I think I'll always remember my experience here as one big cheesy kiss. Seductive. Exciting. Flavorful. Mexico.