These are one of the many delicious tex-mexy variations of enchiladas, and what’s wrong with that? But sometimes its nice to go the authentic route and NOT cover your enchiladas with cheese and bake them in the oven. But that day is not today. I don’t know when that day will be but probably when I am at very inspired levels and decide to make my own tortillas too.
Back to tex mexiness. These spinach and chipotle enchiladas are goo–ood. Anything with chipotle is good, right? But really it’s the homemade enchilada sauce that makes it. And if you have the sauce already to hand, then I would say this is a no-fuss easy meal.
Simple spinach and chipotle enchiladas:
2 or 3 chipotles from a jar of chipotles in adobo sauce
a large bunch fresh spinach, washed and chopped
About 12 corn tortillas
olive oil for frying
shredded cheese (I used parmesan, sharp cheddar and mozzarella)
1 cup heavy cream
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper
1 batch homemade enchilada sauce
1. Blitz the chipotles, the garlic clove and the heavy cream with salt and pepper in a blender till smooth. Taste and add more chipotle if it is not spicy enough. (This is a secret sauce by the way. I put it in my mac and cheese.) If you mix for too long, the heavy cream may thicken. This is ok! Same taste, different texture.
2. Use a paper towel to wipe a little oil around a frying pan and soften the corn tortillas by gently frying each of them.
3. Fill each softened tortilla with the fresh spinach and some of the shredded cheese. Roll up and place into a baking tray seam side down.
4. When the tray is filled, cover with plenty of enchilada sauce. You may not need all of it. Then cover with about half the chipotle cream sauce–or more if you want them to be really rich and creamy. The corn tortillas will absorb a lot of moisture so there should be enough sauce for the enchiladas to cook and still be ‘saucy’.
5. Cover with plenty of shredded cheese and bake in the oven for about 25-35 minutes or till golden and bubbly.
These are really great served with the works–homemade guacamole, greek yogurt or sour cream, salsa, and a citrus-y salad on the side.