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Vegetable Chicken Enchiladas with Easy Green Chile Sauce
Normally, when you think of Mexican food, you may rich, heavy dishes that are loaded with meat and cheese, and often fried. This may be what you get when you go out to eat, but if you make it yourself you can actually have a much healthier meal that won't weigh you down. These enchiladas start with a flavorful and easy tomatillo-green chile sauce that's made with nothing but fresh veggies, water, and seasonings. It's spicy and tangy, the perfect topping for these delicious enchiladas. They're filled with zucchini, pinto beans, and just a tiny bit of ground chicken. I wrap them up in organic corn tortillas and just put the tiniest bit of cheese on top.
Start with the green chile sauce. You can purchase store-bought enchilada sauce, but this is so incredibly easy and tastes so much better! I adapted this recipe from Marcela Valladolid's recipe. Peel and quarter 9-10 tomatillos, chop up a poblano pepper and a Serrano pepper, and cut a white onion in half (you only need half - save the other half for another day). Peel two cloves of garlic and set them aside.
***If you don't like spice, remove the seeds from the peppers!
Boil the tomatillos, poblano, serrano, and onion in 3/4 cup of water for about 10-15 minutes until the tomatillos turn an olive green color and everything is tender.
Remove from the heat and add in the two cloves of garlic, about 1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro leaves, a tablespoon of honey, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper.
Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend everything together until smooth. Set aside to cool. You can also make this a day ahead and store in the refrigerator.
For the filling, dice up a zucchini and drain and rinse a can of pinto or black beans.
Sauté the zucchini with a pinch of salt and pepper in a tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to become tender. Add half a pound of ground chicken to the zucchini and break it up as it cooks. Cook for another few minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Add a half teaspoon each of cumin, chipotle powder, and chile powder to the dish, as well as a tablespoon of tomato paste.
Stir everything together, then add about a 1/4 cup of water or broth. Stir in the pinto beans.
Assemble the enchiladas by dipping corn tortillas into the chile sauce, then placing a line of filling down the middle.
Roll them up like a cigar and place them into a greased baking dish. This recipe yields 8 enchiladas.
Once the enchiladas are rolled, pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle over 1/2 cup of Monterey jack cheese.
Bake the enchiladas for about 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees until the cheese is browned.
Serve and enjoy a "healthified," Mexican-inspired meal
Recipe:
Total time: 45 minutes | Serves: 4
Ingredients:
9-10 tomatillos, peeled and quartered
1 Poblano pepper, cut into large pieces (seeds and pith removed if you don't like spice)
1 Serrano pepper (seeds and pith removed if you don't like spice)
1/2 white onion
3/4 cup water or broth
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup fresh parsley or cilantro
1 tbs honey
1 tbs olive oil
1 zucchini, diced small
1/2 lb ground white meat chicken
1 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup water or broth
Salt & Pepper
8 corn tortillas
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Boil the tomatillos, poblano, serrano, and white onion in 3/4 cup water or broth for 10-15 minutes in a medium saucepan, until the tomatillos have darkened and everything is tender. Remove from the heat.
3. Add the garlic, parsley (or cilantro), honey, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper to the saucepan. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until smooth. Set aside.
4. While the vegetables for the sauce are boiling, start the filling. Heat a tbs of olive oil over medium high head in a pan and sauté the zucchini with salt and pepper until it starts to get tender. Add the ground chicken, breaking it up as it cooks.
5. Once the chicken is cooked through and starting to brown, stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste, the cumin, chipotle powder, and chili powder. Add the black beans to the pan as well as 1/4 of water or broth and stir until everything is combined. Remove from heat.
6. Brush a 9x9 baking dish with olive oil. Dip the corn tortillas into the chile sauce, then add a line of filling down the middle. Roll them up like a cigar and place them into the baking dish.
7. Pour the remaining sauce over the top, then sprinkle over the cheese.
8. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown.