I’m back! There’s been a few days of silence while I gave myself a little holiday break but I think it’s time to start sharing with you all again. This recipe is so delicious! Filled with extra veg and the perfect thing to serve with a simple green salad, I can’t wait for you to try it.

Enchiladas. Look, they’re not known as a health food. They’re usually a cheese filled oily affair, but not these guys. I mean, don’t worry, there’s still lots of cheese in these but it’s they’re to add flavour rather than be the main flavour. By using a sharp cheddar and some feta I was able to cut down on the quantity. I’ve also gone ahead and made my own sauce. it’s the same one I use from my black bean and sweet potato enchiladas and based off my tortilla soup recipe. You could use a jar of passata instead, the flavour will just be a little different.

There’s a reason I’m sharing these today. I’m not sure about you but I still have lots of leftovers and am looking for ways to use up the last of them. This is an excellent way to use up leftover roast turkey or chicken. If your leftovers are a little dry it won’t even matter because you’re going to drench them in that super flavoursome sauce and add the juicy sweetcorn. You could also add any other left over vegetables you have to these!

I love using leftovers in ways that make it taste like completely new food and the smoky flavours of these moorish enchiladas do just that. I’ve also made a turkey version of my roast chicken noodles this week, am eating grilled ham sandwiches and chopping it up and having it in fried rice. You can also use it in cauliflower fried rice! How do you use your leftovers? I hate wasting food so would love to know your tips and tricks too!

A little reminder, if using corn enchiladas then they can be brittle so it’s important to warm them in your sauce first. If you’re still having trouble and they’re breaking as you try and roll them you could try microwaving the pile for 30 seconds first. But remember a little breakage won’t matter once you’ve baked them, it will just result in extra crispy bits!

 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Home Made Roasted Tomato Enchilada sauce

1 kg tomatoes

1 red capsicum or red bullhorn chilli

1 jalapeño chilli (omit if using bullhorn chilli)

1 Tbs olive oil

1/3 cup spring onion, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tbs finely chopped coriander root and stem, finely chopped

1.5 tsp hot smoked paprika

2 tsps cumin seeds

1.5 cups vegetable stock

Enchiladas

1 Tbs olive oil

1/3 cup onion (I used spring onion because fructose, you can use you preferred)

1 tsp hot smoked paprika (sub for sweet if not into heat)

2 cloves garlic

2 coriander roots, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 carrot, grated

2 cups corn (use frozen or if it’s summer in your neck of the woods use fresh)

400g cooked chicken,  shredded (I used grilled chicken breast)

2/3 cup freshly grated sharp aged cheddar

12 corn tortillas (I used 12cm ones, taco size)

3 Tbs feta cheese

Toppings to serve: avocado, radish, coriander, finely chopped spring onion.

Directions

Make the sauce: Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place tomatoes and bullhorn chilli/capsicum + jalapeño on the tray. Roast in the oven until skin has begun to blacken and they are collapsing, about 45 minutes. The bullhorn/capsicums stem should come out easily when gently pulled, if it does this, you know it’s all ready. Remove any stems and rub off the blackened skin, you don’t need to remove all of it just the particularly charcoaled bits!

Next, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, once hot add the onion, coriander, garlic, cumin seeds and paprika. Cook for a couple of minutes until the onion has softened and the spices are fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and peppers to the onion, along with the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and then blend until smooth in a blender (do it in batches if you need to) or alternatively you could use a stick blender.

Make the Enchiladas: Your oven should hopefully still be at 180 degrees celsius.

In a medium saucepan heat the olive oil and then add onion, garlic, coriander and spices. Cook, stirring frequently for a couple of minutes and then add the carrot. Stir to coat everything in the spice mix and cook for 2 minutes to soften, add a little water if it starts to stick. Add the chicken, corn, 2/3 cup of enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes at low heat to heat through the chicken.

Find a large baking dish that will fit 12 enchiladas. Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce into the bottom and spread evenly.

Take a tortilla and dip in enchilada sauce to soften it. Fill with the chicken and corn mixture (a little more than 1/4 cup) roll up and face seam side down in your baking tray.

Repeat until you have used all the tortillas, place them close together in your baking dish so they sit snuggly pressed up against each other.

Pour more enchilada sauce over your rolled tortillas, drizzling to ensure it is evenly distributed across the tray. They don’t need to be swimming in sauce but you don’t want them to be dry. Top with remaining cheese,crumbling the feta over last.

Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden and the edges of the tortilla are crispy.

To serve, scatter over toppings and cut in, serving 2-3 enchiladas per person. Don’t worry if things get a bit messy this one is so much more about flavour than looks. Comfort food at its best!

HH. x