What a Summer! {Grilled Vegetable Enchiladas}

As I sat down to write, I looked back at the previous posts and saw it has been quite a while since I've shared anything at all here. Following what was a Spring filled with a multitude of kid-related events etc, I had envisioned a summer filled with cooking and recipe testing and writing and family and fun. Summer had other ideas about what would be. Following a series of unfortunate events (minor illnesses for the kids & a seemingly small ankle injury that resulted in surgery for my sweet daughter), not much happened in the way of creative cooking.  While we did have an amazingly fun trip to the NJ/NYC area, the majority of the summer was spent in survival mode. Now,with the school year in full swing, we're just now acclimating to the school year schedule and all that it brings. Also, it is officially Fall, but here in Central Texas, temps are still reaching into the 90's so no sweater vests or cords for us just yet. 

With warm-weather cooking still on my mind, and summer crops still available at the local farmers' market, I set out to make a meal that was simple, tasty and not in our usual rotation. I love a good enchilada and have an excellent recipe for my Grandma's red sauce. However, that dish can be a bit heavy with the cheese-filled tortillas, sauce and more cheese. This dish is a bit lighter with all of the things required to be defined as an enchilada but with a bit of a twist --  the filling is purely grilled vegetables, the sauces, one red and one green, are also light and fresh and the cheese is a queso fresco which is lighter than the mounds of melted cheese found in the traditional version. Additionally, rather than a casserole type item, the final product is given a light fry in oil to crisp up the corn tortilla and give it some texture. It is a big like a flauta in a way, but not really...maybe it is a flauta-lada. Whatever you call it, it is so so good and made a fabulous re-entry into creative cooking here in my home.

Grilled Vegetable Enchiladas with Red and Green Sauces

adapted from Ruth Cosineau

• 1 lb of fresh zucchini squash; sliced lengthwise into 1/4" thick slices
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices
• 2-4 red sweet peppers, stems and seeds removed and cut into quarters
• 8 corn tortillas
• canola oil
• 8 oz of queso fresco, crumbled
• your favorite red salsa (fresh, table style preferably)
• your favorite green sauce (tomatillo salsa is a good choice)

1. Prepare grill or grill pan to medium high heat. While grill is heating, prepare vegetable slices and place on a grill pan/grill basket.
2. Place vegetables on grill and cook until slightly charred - about 6-8 minutes for peppers and squash and 10-12 minutes for onions. Turn as needed to have both sides even. (Cook to your taste, but let them cook at least until softened)
3. Once vegetables are done, slice into thin strips and hold until ready to fill enchiladas.
4. In a small fry pan, add enough oil to have depth of 1/4-1/2"of oil. Heat oil over medium-high heat. In order to soften tortillas for rolling, slide tortilla into the hot oil briefly and then remove to a papertowel lined plate. (Allow oil to drip back into saute pan before moving.) Once all tortillas have been softened move on to filling.
5. Spread a scant tablespoon of the green sauce on the surface of the pliable tortilla. Fill with strips of grilled vegetables being careful to not over stuff. Roll tortilla and then place enchilada into the hot oil; seam side down first. Once the enchilada has crisped a bit, use the tongs to flip and crisp other side. (I used a small 8 in pan(in an effort to reduce the amount of initial oil needed) so I did these one at a time. If you use a larger pan, you may be able to fit more at once.)
6. When crisped, move enchilada to plate. Drizzle with both salsas and crumbled queso & serve and enjoy!

Note: I used homemade salsas, but jarred salsas would do just as well. The local farmers' market has many high quality products that have more of the aspects of a fresh made salsa than the standard mass produced store varieties. Additionally, make sure that your rolled enchiladas aren't too wet with sauce as you will cause a flash fire when you place them in the grease - I learned the hard way with a couple of surprising flare-ups!

These were absolutely delicious and such a refreshing change of pace from our usual dinners. I'm hoping this sparked my cooking mojo and that it will stick with me into the fall season!

Happy Cooking!

sld

Tweet