Next week’s Dinner And A Movie features Phish’s July 23, 1999 show from Polaris Amphitheater in Columbus, OH. The full show will play this Wednesday, September 30 at 8:30PM ET at webcast.livephish.com. This week, Phish HQ’s Betty Frost brings us enchiladas, a jicama/orange/cucumber/mint salad and apple fritters — recipes are below.
This week’s beneficiary is ACLU. Founded in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, multi-issue, public interest organization devoted to protecting the civil liberties of all people in the United States. Recognized as the nation’s premier public interest law firm, the ACLU works daily in courts, legislatures, and communities to defend and preserve the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. For more information, visit www.aclu.org
Enchiladas
(Makes about 12 rolled enchiladas. Serves 4-6)
A note about tortillas: Store bought tortillas are fine, especially when hot and soaked in delicious sauce. However, if you have a favorite restaurant nearby that makes their own tortillas, you can call and ask them if they will sell you a dozen. They are often cheap, & very fresh.
10-14 corn tortillas
Enchilada Sauce (recipe below)
Veggie or chicken filling
Shredded mexican cheese (cheddar/jack) (plus 1 6oz bag for topping)
Sour cream
Cilantro
Sliced
Avocados (optional)
The Sauce
There are 100 varieties depending on the flavor you want. Below is a standard recipe with a few optional variations. Also: you can buy enchilada sauce at the grocery store to make this meal more simple to prepare! We love the Frontera enchilada sauce (comes in red or green) if you’re looking for a good store-bought brand. Buy 2 pouches (or 12-16 oz of other brands) for this recipe.
3 tsp olive oil (or other mild vegetable oil)
3 tsp flour
1-2 Tbsp chili powder (not cayenne!) (see variation below)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable, your choice)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar if that’s all you have handy)
Salt to taste
Measure everything out in advance.
Add the oil to a small saucepan over medium heat, then add the flour and stir to combine and make a roux. Wisk in the spices to toast them a bit for a minute.
Add tomato paste, then gradually add the stock, whisking continuously to break up any lumps. On medium heat, simmer for about 5-7 minutes or until it has thickened a bit. Remove from heat, and add Season with salt (and/or adjust other seasonings) to taste —
start with ¼ and work up from there if needed.
Can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Variations:
Use chipotle chili powder for a more smoky flavor (also will make it more spicy, so adjust measurements or blend with regular chili powder) or ancho chili powder or add a pinch of cayenne if you want more spice.
Chicken Filling
2 tsp olive or vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder. Coat a large saute pan with 1 TBPS oil, and cook chicken, covered, over medium heat, about 6-8 minutes per side or until just cooked through and no longer pink inside. Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken using two forks, or your (clean) hands.
While the chicken is cooling, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about for 3 minutes. Add the green chiles, black beans, and shredded chicken and heat through. Taste and season more salt and spices if desired.
Veggie Filling
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced (optional, if you like spice)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2-2.5 cups)
4-5 kale leaves, stem removed and chopped
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, plus more for garnishing
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Mexican cheese (1 6oz bag)
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Sauteé the garlic, onions and jalapeño (if using) until the onions become translucent and the garlic is fragrant, approximately 2 minutes.
Add the cubed sweet potatoes, a pinch of salt and some fresh ground pepper. Add ¼ cup of water, cover and cook over medium-low heat until the sweet potatoes are tender but not mushy, which will take about 10 minutes. Stir once or twice and if the water is absorbed
or evaporates, add a bit more to help cook the sweet potatoes without sticking.
While the potatoes are cooking prepare the beans. Add black beans, cumin and chili powder and warm over medium heat. If you have low salt or unsalted beans, add a pinch of salt as well.
When sweet potatoes are just cooked, add kale and cilantro and stir into the mixture.
Enchilada Assembly
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Coat the bottom of a 9×13” pan with a teaspoon or two of vegetable oil, the spread 1/3 -½ cup of the enchilada sauce across the bottom.
Roll up each enchilada and stack them, seam side down, to fill up the pan. Depending on the size of your tortillas, this will take 8-12 tortillas.
Add about 1/3 cup of filling in the center of each tortilla (chicken mixture, or sweet potato/kale and black beans with a sprinkle of shredded cheese). Roll it up so that the edges overlap and place in the baking dish seam-side down to hold it closed. (If it’s
hard to roll them up with an overlapped edge, you probably have too much filling. Repeat until the dish is full. It’s ok to snuggle them tightly!
Pour about 1 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce over the top. It should cover all of the enchiladas, but not leave them sitting in a pool of sauce. Keep any remaining sauce warm to serve on the side if anyone wants more.
Cover the top with shredded cheese, anywhere from ¼ to 1 cup, depending on your preference. Cover with aluminum foil, and bake for about 8-10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove foil and let bake for another 2-3 minutes to slightly brown cheese on top.
Serve with cilantro, sour cream, avocados and extra sauce on the side.
Jicama, Orange, Cucumber and Mint Salad
Serves 4-6
I large jicama (about the size of a grapefruit, or 2 small)
2 oranges
½ cucumber (English cucumber preferred)
3/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and/or sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
in a skillet or oven
1 cup fresh mint leaves
Juice from ½ a lime (about 1 TBSP)
3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp salt, more to taste
1.5 tsp honey
Peel jicama. Slice into 1/4 inch thick slabs, then cut slab into squares (approx. 2”). Set aside in a bowl. (If preparing ahead of time, cover in water and store in the fridge to keep crisp).
Cut oranges into segments. Slice cucumber in half lengthwise. If it has a lot of seeds, cut out the majority of the seeds. Slice into thin half-moons, about ⅛” thick. Whisk together lime juice, honey, olive oil and salt.
Just before you’re ready to serve, gently toss jicama, oranges, cucumber and mint leaves with the dressing. Adjust seasoning (more salt, more lime juice or more honey) if needed. Serve with a slotted spoon to keep any excess dressing from making your enchiladas soggy!
Apple Fritters
Makes about 24 fritters – serves 6 to 8
Vegetable oil, for frying (approx 1 qt)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
¾ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
⅛ tsp allspice
A dash of ground ginger or cloves (optional)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
⅔ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large apples, peeled, cored and grated or finely chopped (granny smiths work great, but whatever you have on hand is fine)
Pour 1 ½ inches of oil in a deep pot (like a dutch oven or stock pot) and heat to 350 on the stove (approx medium-high heat). (If you don’t have a thermometer, a good test of the right temp for your oil is to stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil.
When it’s ready for trying, you’ll see bubbles form around the wood and start to float up). Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet or paper towels.
In small bowl, mix together all of the spices.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and ½ tsp of the spice mixture.
Add the remaining granulated sugar to the remaining spice mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, 1 tablespoon oil and vanilla, then add to the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Add the grated apple and fold into the batter.
Working in batches, drop large spoonfuls of the batter into oil (each about 2 TSBP). Fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to pull fritters out of the oil and roll into the sugar-spice mixture, then gently place on the cooling rack.
Also great served with cinnamon ice cream! ... See MoreSee Less
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