Enchiladas and Beans

We love this recipe. The enchilada recipe is my own (I'm happy to say) and the beans recipe is an old stand-by of Vanessa's. Together, they become magic.

I made my own corn tortillas here, using masa harina (1 cup), some water (2/3 cup) and a pinch of salt . This yields 8 tortillas. The flavor is definitely better than store-bought and it only takes a few minutes to throw together. Basically, I pressed the dough balls out between two pieces of cling wrap using a heavy, cast-iron skillet as the press. Fry them off in some hot oil for about 10 seconds per side and blot the oil off with some paper towels. Happy days!

The enchilada sauce has a nice heat to it, which is cut by the rich, creaminess of the goat's cheese. For the beans, don't be shy with the salt, pepper and cumin as it cooks, tasting frequently along the way and adjusting as necessary.

3 green chilies
3 green pepper, cored, seeded, stemmed
12 tomatillos
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 garlic, finely sliced
1 red onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
8 corn tortilla
2 chicken breasts
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
⅛ teaspoon chili powder
100 g goat cheese

Preheat the broiler. Prepare the roasted ingredients by taking the chilies, green pepper pieces and tomatillos and placing them on a baking sheet lined with foil and drizzled with oil. Drizzle a little more oil over the top and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Place 4 inches or so under the broiler and cook until the skin is charred, turning the chilies over halfway through, about 10-15 minutes altogether. Remove from the oven and set the tomatillos aside in a bowl. Take the skin off of the green peppers and chop roughly. Next, roughly chop the chilies. Put this all in the bowl with the tomatillos and set aside. Change the oven temperature to 350F.

Get a large saute pan hot over medium heat with the oil. When hot, add the garlic and onions and saute, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes, or until the onions are well softened and starting to go brown in spots. Add the tomatillos, peppers and chilies and cook until it starts bubbling some, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until most of the liquid rendered out by the tomatillos has evaporated and the mixture is somewhat thicker. Take off the heat and set aside.

Heat some canola oil (at a depth of about 1/8") in a small saute pan (just big enough to fit a tortilla) over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the tortillas, one at a time, for just 5-10 seconds per side in the hot oil. Pat dry between some layers of paper towels and set aside.

Heat a bit of oil a medium sized fry pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry. Season with cumin, coriander and chili powder to taste. When the pan is hot, fry the chicken quickly, browning on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and put the chicken on a cutting board. When just cool enough to handle, slice the chicken into chunks. The chicken will not be cooked through yet, and that's OK. Crumble the goat's cheese and reserve a 1/4 cup of it. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and assemble the enchiladas by laying some chicken and goats cheese along the middle of a tortilla, rolling it up carefully, and laying them side by side in the baking dish. (NOTE: I recommend doing the actual assembly inside the baking dish). Pour sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with the remaining goat's cheese. Place in the oven for 12 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese toasty and melty, and the sauce is bubbly. Serve hot over Mexican rice and/or beans.

The Beans
2 cups dried pinto beans, (1 pound)
salt, to taste
cumin, to taste

Sort the beans to remove any stones or grit and rinse in a colander. Place the beans in a pot with 8 cups water, bring to a boil, and cook on low heat for 6 hours or until tender. Stir a few times so that the beans cook evenly and don't burn. Add water as necessary. Cooked beans will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To cook in a crockpot:
Cook for 2 hours on high and 6 hours on low heat. Add water as necessary.