Creamy Chayote Corn Enchiladas Recipes

CREAMY CORN AND SPINACH ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch pan and a piece of foil large enough to cover the pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• To make the filling: Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it is clear, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken, chiles and chili powder, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the corn, spinach, sour cream, cheese, and salt.
• Place a stack of 6 tortillas between damp paper towels and microwave on high power until the tortillas are hot and soft enough to roll, about 1 minute. Cover with a cloth towel to keep warm. Remove 1 tortilla at a time, keeping the other tortillas covered, and place a rounded 1/3 cup of the filling down to the center. Roll into a cylinder and place in the prepared pan, seam side down and close enough to touch. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the enchiladas are hot, about 30 minutes.
• To make the sauce: Meanwhile, stir the taco sauce and sour cream together in a small bowl. Uncover the pan and spread the sauce over the hot enchiladas. Sprinkle cheese and cilantro over the top. Return to the oven, uncovered, and bake until the cheese melts and the sauce is bubbly, about 10 minutes.

GREENS AND CHAYOTE ENCHILADAS WITH SALSA VERDE

Steps:

• Strip chard leaves from stems and wash in 2 changes of water. Rinse stems and cut in small dice if wide, or, if thin, slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick. Set aside stems with chayote in one bowl and leaves in another.
• Make the salsa verde: Combine tomatillos, jalapeños and onion in a medium saucepan; cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, until tomatillos have gone from pale green to olive and have softened. Using a slotted spoon, transfer tomatillos, onion and one of the jalapeños to a blender. Do not drain water from pot. Let vegetables cool in blender while you blanch greens and chayote.
• Add more water to the pot so it is about 2/3 full. Return to a boil, salt generously, and add leaves. Blanch until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer leaves to a bowl of cold water to quickly shock, then drain and dry. Chop coarsely and set aside.
• Return water to a simmer and add chayote and chard stems. Simmer 5 minutes, or until just tender. Drain through a colander and again on paper towels.
• Add whole garlic cloves and cilantro sprigs to ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Taste for heat and add remaining jalapeño if desired.
• Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add tomatillo purée and partly cover to protect from splattering. Cook, stirring often, until it thickens and begins to stick to the pan, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in stock, add salt to taste, and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring often, until sauce is thick and coats the front and back of a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat and add minced garlic. When fragrant, after about 30 seconds, stir in oregano, blanched leaves, stems and chayote. Cook, stirring for about 3 minutes, until tender, fragrant and coated with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup salsa verde and set aside.
• Prepare the tortillas: Heat 1/3 cup canola oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, until oil bubbles around the edges of a tortilla when you dip it into the pan. Place a platter covered with paper towels next to pan. Using tongs, slide tortillas, one at a time, into hot oil. As soon as tortilla begins to puff, about 10 to 15 seconds, flip over and leave another 10 to 15 seconds. Immediately remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Cover with foil to keep warm.
• One by one, quickly dip tortillas into the remaining warm salsa verde, lay on serving platter, and top with about 1/4 cup filling. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down on platter. When all tortillas have been filled, pour remaining salsa verde on top, sprinkle with cilantro and queso fresco and serve.

CREAMY CORN AND SPINACH ENCHILADAS WITH CHICKEN

Steps:

• Filling: Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until clear.
• Add chicken, chilies, cayenne and cumin, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat and stir in corn, spinach, sour cream, 1 cup monterey jack cheese and salt. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
• Lightly spray a 13x9 inch pan and a piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover it with non-stick spray.
• Microwave 6 tortillas wrapped in damp paper towels on high about 1 minute, until soft enough to roll. Keep warm during assembly by covering with clean kitchen towel. Place a rounded 1/3 cup filling down each tortilla, roll into a cylinder and place seam side down in pan. Repeat with all 12 tortillas. You will probably have two layers of enchiladas in the pan.
• For sauce: stir the taco sauce and sour cream together in a small bowl. Pour evenly over enchiladas in pan. Bake, covered with foil for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, sprinkle with cheese and cilantro, and bake uncovered 10 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

CREAMY CORN AND SPINACH ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Saute onion in large skillet until soft. Add salt and pepper to onion while sauteing. In a large bowl, defrost corn in microwave and drain well. Return to large bowl.
• Add diced Hatch chile to corn.
• Add spinach to sauteing onions and cook down, about 5 minutes.
• Add softened cream cheese, 4 oz of sour cream, chopped cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and onion / spinach mixture to corn and Hatch chile and mix well.
• Lightly grease 9x13 baking dish with olive oil.
• Fill each tortilla with 2 or 3 large spoonfuls of corn / spinach mixture. Roll tortillas and line in baking dish. (It may help to warm tortillas in kitchen clothes for 30 seconds in the microwave to ease rolling. Also, I was able to fit 8 across and 4 down in my baking dish.).
• Add tomatillo sauce to cover rolled enchiladas and cover with cheese.
• Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until brown on top.