Homegrown Habitat: September 2014

Super Green Enchilada Casserole

First a little disclaimer: I don't really use recipes for cooking. I browse recipes for ideas of flavor profiles and then make up my own. Or, I harvest what is ready in the garden and whip something up from the harvest. So, this recipe is an un-recipe. I am approximating the amounts I used to make this meal. So, there you have it. :)

This week we harvested an abundance of tomatillos and serrano peppers. Then, we had leftover pork roast from a Sunday dinner with extended family. Combine the two, and it sounded like enchiladas to me!

I always have greens available to harvest, so I thought they would work as a good filler in lieu of beans or cheese. My teen pointed out that most of the ingredients for the enchiladas were green, thus the enchiladas would be super green.

First harvest 10-12 large leaves of swiss chard and/or kale. (I went out in the rain to do this.)

Wash the leaves and remove stems. Chop leaves into one inch pieces. Place in greased or sprayed 9x13 baking dish.

Any leftover cooked meat would work for this casserole. I used leftover pork roast, about 1 1/2 lbs. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes and place in baking dish.

Cut a stack of 12 or so corn tortillas into 1 inch pieces. Place in baking dish. (Sorry about the weird photo-bombing fingers in the photo.)

Stir the greens, meat and tortilla pieces to combine.

Now it is time for the tomatillo sauce: remove the husk and wash enough tomatillos to fill the blender. We probably used 15-20.

Add a generous heaping spoonful of minced garlic to the blender (it was close to 2 tablespoons.)

Then add one serrano pepper for a slight heat in the finished enchiladas. Or add two if you like it spicier. Or add one for the children and non-heat-seekers in the family and serve extra sliced serranos for those members of your family who like it spicy. This was the option we went with when hubby said the enchiladas were bland for his heat-seeking tastebuds.

Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt to the blender (yes, a tablespoon. Nothing else in the meal has salt.)

Add about 4 ounces of water to help things blend.

Blend away! After our first blend, the blender jar was down to 2/3 full, so we filled it again with 6-8 more husked, rinsed tomatillos and blended a second time to get a jar full of sauce.

Taste and adjust for seasoning. Ours was delicious, tangy, hint of heat, and ready to go on the casserole. Pour evenly over the mix in the baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

While it is baking, return outside in the rain to harvest toppings! I picked green onions and salad burnet (a perennial herb with frilly leaves and a light cucumber flavor.) Cilantro would be another good topping.