I am way behind on my recipes. I have a bunch of photos stored away and a bunch of recipe cards just waiting to be typed up. I'm working on it now that I have a little bit of time to breathe. This recipe I actually made months ago and enjoyed it, and I just found the recipe card while I was cleaning up my kitchen, so I figured it was time to type it up and post it. I'm sure I have a photo somewhere, but I'm not sure where at the moment, so you get a photoless entry for now.
I'm really fascinated with tomatillos now. Which is probably a good thing, since evidently, one of my co-workers has a giant tomatillo plant that is making so much fruit he isn't sure what to do with it all. This recipe calls for them to be roasted first. I had an interesting experience with trying to chop them afterwards, because they just burst apart. So while the recipe calls for them to be chopped, I more like mashed them. The end result was essentially the same, I think.
When I've made salsa verde in the past, it hasn't come out right, but I do think it complements this dish well and adds some to the flavor. I like a little extra spice (though nothing compared to my Asian and Indian friends), so I used a whole Poblano and didn't blink an eye about having some seeds in there. There was nice heat.
Quinoa and Black Bean Enchiladas
Originally found at Blue Apron
1/2 cup quinoa*
4 large tomatillos, husked
1 Poblano pepper
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp water
2 limes
1 1/4 cup cooked black beans (or 1 can), rinsed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chile powder*
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
4-6 tortillas
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
Preheat oven to 475F. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Rinse the quinoa under cold water, then add to boiling water. Cook 16-18 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl. Place tomatillos and Poblano pepper on sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and roat 10-12 minutes, until browned and softened. When cool enough to handle, finely chop both the pepper and the tomatillos.
To prepare the salsa verde, heat 2 tsp olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onion, and cook 2-3 minutes until softened. Add water, the chopped tomatillos, and the chopped pepper (to taste). Cook 2-3 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the juice of 1/2 lime.
To the bowl of quinoa, add the beans, all spices, and the juice of 1 lime. Drizzle with olive oil and stir to combine. Spread about 1/2 cup of the filling into the bottom of a baking dish. Spoon 1/4-1/2 cup of filling into each tortilla, roll tightly, then place seam down into the baking dish in a single layer. Pour the salsa verde over the enchiladas and top with cheese. Bake 13-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Garnish with remaining lime.
My Notes:
*Red quinoa was initially used in this recipe, and it does add some nice color to the dish. But I imagine just about any quinoa would work in a pinch. For additional flavor, try Chipotle or Ancho chile powder.
This dish was a little on the dry side, but I'm not entirely sure what I can add to the filling to make it more moist. Maybe more cheese? I also had way too much filling for the 4 tortillas that were originally part of this recipe, which is why I increased the number of tortillas compared to the original recipe.
