Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Chayote and Corn Enchiladas


Can you tell that this is a picture of cold enchiladas? I tried taking a picture the night I made it but the colours were all weird so just took some photos the next day. I looove enchiladas but have never attempted making them at home. Not only did I make enchiladas, but I made the corn tortillas! I was very proud of myself. Mind you I didn't have a tortilla press and pushing down on them with a frying pan to flatten them out didn't seem to get them thin enough. Plus I opted not to fry them first which is supposed to make them softer. So rather than rolling the filling in the tortillas I just layered some tortillas on the top and bottom, sandwiching the filling. It worked!


This is one of my favourite Abby pictures! Look at her little tummy! This was when she was younger (and smaller). The white fluffy stuff on the bottom is my mom's dog's head.


The filling was yummy with chayotes, zucchini, bell peppers, onion, corn, jalapeno, cilantro, and cheese. And it was topped with an oven roasted tomato sauce, which on its own I thought was okay but with the enchiladas was perfect. I tried to keep it healthier by not adding much cheese but enchiladas are definitely more delicious when there's lots of nice melty cheese! If you just add the recommended 1/2 cup you may not even notice it there. And this is easily made vegan by omitting the cheese altogether.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Refried Beans (which I ate with the enchiladas!)
Roasted Taco Chickpeas
Black Bean Chilaquile
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Chayote and Corn Enchiladas
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

I don't think I added the cilantro when I made it. The recipe calls for Monterey Jack cheese but I just used cheddar. And it recommends 1/2 cup of cheese - but I say either omit the cheese (and make it vegan!) or add way more than that because I couldn't taste it. Remember to start on the sauce before the enchiladas!

2 small chayote
2 zucchini
1 large red or orange bell pepper
1 white onion
1 tbsp oil
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, from 2 ears if fresh
Salt
1 or 2 jalapeno chiles to taste, seeded and diced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
12 corn tortillas
2 cups Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce (Recipe Follows)

Dice all the vegetables about 1/4 inch across. Keep them separate. Heat the oil in a wide skillet, add the onion and chayote, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned in places, about 5 minutes. Add the pepper, corn, and zucchini, cook for 2 minutes more, then remove from the heat and season with salt. Let cool a little, then add the chiles, cilantro and cheese.

Lay half of the corn tortillas in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, to cover the bottom. Put all the filling on top. Layer the rest of the tortillas on top. Spoon the sauce over the enchiladas. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

2 1/2 pounds Roma Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375F. Put the tomatoes in a single layer in a baking pan with the onion and thyme, drizzle the oil over all, and season with salt and pepper. bake unitl they're soft, shriveled, and falling apart, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Puree in a food processor. Taste for salt and season with pepper.

13 comments:

Johanna GGG said...

cute pic of abby

the enchiladas look great - I am impressed your made your own tortilla - a friend of mine has a press I forgot we were going to use it together some time

I had to look up chayote and found they were what we call chokos - never used them before but now I know what to use them in

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

I've never tried enchiladas before (gasp hehe) but I loves me some chayote saute so I think this dish would get along just great with my tummy.

grace said...

fluffy belly! so cute. :)
okay, so chayotes, zucchini, bell peppers, onion, corn, jalapeno, cilantro, cheese...all things i LOVE. this is great. jack cheese would be a necessity though. :)

kickpleat said...

I'm impressed that you made your own tortillas! I'm always tempted but never have (afraid of the pressing!). This looks delicious and heathy!

kimberleyblue said...

abby is adorable. i think cat bellies are pretty much the cutest things in the entire world.

i too am impressed with the fact you made your own tortillas! i love how healthy and delicious that looks.

i too often end up having to take another set of photos of the food, now all cold and a day-old.

Tanya said...

That looks awesome! I've got a bunch of corn tortillas and zucchini in the fridge, so I'm gonna have to try and make it this weekend.

Usha said...

Abby looks adorable....loved the enchiladas, very unique combination of veggies in it...

Erin said...

These look delicious! I love enchiladas.

Hannah said...

Come to think of it, I've never actually made enchiladas from scratch before. This must be fixed! And I think I know where to start with the recipe... ;) This looks perfect!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Cute picture of your cat. This meal is so unique and different.

Dana said...

I am so impressed that you made your own tortillas! I LOVE that book but have never made this recipe. All those veggies have got to be good.

test it comm said...

That looks nice an d healthy and tasty!

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