Tomatillo Enchiladas with Spinach and Mushrooms : Cookin' with Moxie

Tomatillo Enchiladas with Spinach and Mushrooms

This recipe was inspired by Rick Bayless and his cookbook Mexican Everyday. Rick Bayless is a famous chef who has restaurants in Chicago. He has made appearances on Food Network and other food-related shows for as long as I can remember. Mexican cooking is his specialty and in this cookbook he showcases easy at-home recipes with accessible ingredients. I took it one step further and made this simple enough for a weeknight meal. I used a store-bought tomatillo salsa instead of making my own and I used pre-shredded cheese so I wouldn’t have to shred or crumble it myself. I also bought pre-sliced mushrooms and baby spinach so I didn’t have to cut any tough stems off.

I forgot how much I love enchiladas and how easy they are to put together. They are also very versatile – you can fill them with any ingredients you like. They’re a good way to use leftovers as well… whether you have half a roast chicken, stir-fry from the night before or random vegetables in your drawer that are on their way out. The other great thing about enchiladas is that they are covered with cheese – a weakness of mine! I used Sargento 4-Cheese Mexican on top of these, which included Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero Cheese, but you can use your favorite.

These enchiladas were a hearty and satisfying meal for dinner. Salsa Verde has a tangy but milder flavor than the regular salsa you are used to. There are underlying tastes of tomatillos, green chiles and onions. Tomatillos are green but are not actually green tomatoes. Confusing, I know. It is a fruit but usually tastes more tart than your average red tomato. I think it’s a fun way to jazz up your Wednesday dinner routine. All of the other ingredients in this recipe are typical, but when combined in a tortilla, covered with cheese and baked, there is nothing ordinary about it!

Ingredients:

16 oz jar of Ortega Salsa Verde (or Tomatillo Salsa)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 small red onion, diced
7 ounces baby spinach
1 cup shredded or diced cooked chicken
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 flour tortillas, preferably Large Burrito Flour Tortillas
1 cup pre-shredded Mexican-blend cheese (or more if you have a heavy hand like me)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4-5 minutes, until they begin to brown. Add the red onion and continue cooking and stirring for another two minutes, until the onion looks translucent. Add the spinach and chicken and cook, stirring constantly, for two minutes, or until the spinach is wilted and ingredients are combined in the pan. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
Pour 1/4 of the jar of Salsa Verde into a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. It is now time to prepare the tortillas, one at a time. Take a tortilla and spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of filling and one tablespoon of Salsa Verde down the center. Roll up and lay seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with each tortilla until there is no filling left. It helps to separate the filling in the pan so you don’t have to guess how much filling to put in each and one is not more stuffed than the other.
Once all of the tortillas are filled and situated in the baking dish, pour the rest of the Salsa Verde around the pan (if there is any left) and sprinkle the enchiladas with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted and fillings are warmed through. Serves 4.

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