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CHORIZO ENCHILADAS
So good it might be illegal in some countries!
Just the other day, inspired by a recipe Lynne found in one of her library of
cookbooks, and a visit I made to one of my favourite stops on the way home from Brisbane, Montezuma's
Mexican Restaurant in Beenleigh, Qld.,I decided to make my own chorizo- with enchiladas in mind.
For those unfamiliar with chorizo, it’s a spicy sausage commonly used in Mexican
and Spanish cuisine. I had seen chorizo in Woolies and bought some thinking it
would be the kind I had eaten in Mexico, but it was more like a Polish sausage
with
a small bit of chilli powder in it. (I like Polish sausage too, but that’s another
recipe)
Mexican chorizo is very different, the kind I had eaten before was very spicy
and oily when cooked. Not so with my chorizo though. (I call it mine, but really
Lynne gave me the recipe, I just happened to be the one who got to mix it all
up, and of course add a few personal touches)
Before I lose the vegetarians I should mention that we also made veggie enchiladas,
but in my mind the star of the day was definitely the chorizo filled variety.
The margaritas weren’t bad either. (recipes at the end)
As much as anything, I enjoyed making it because it reminded me of my father,
who used to make up his own spiced sausage for special occasions. He didn’t bother
with stuffing it into casings, but cooked it as sausage patties which he ate with
eggs for breakfast.
That’s what I did too. I have to admit that before the chorizo found it’s way
into our Sunday enchilada dinner, a small portion was diverted and cooked with
my Saturday scrambled eggs.
Some people will use a mixture of ground pork and ground beef, but I chose all
lean pork that the Mullumbimby butcher ground up for me on the spot. Starting
with a kilo
of ground pork, I added the following ingredients into a large mixing bowl
and squished it all together by hand-
CHORIZO RECIPE (enough for a dozen large enchiladas at least)
1 kilo lean ground pork
½ cup of finely minced onion
2 tablespoons vinegar
10 cloves of minced garlic
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground (regular ground is ok too)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ teaspoons pepper
½ teaspoon ground coriander
pinch of cinnamon
2- 4 tablespoons of chilli powder
(or preferably, 4 dried and ground ancho chillies and 4 dried and ground
red cayennes) Whatever dried chilli you have will work, chipotle powder is nice
too. I just added a bunch, then added some more but it was still fairly mild which
was probably best for most of our guests.
1 raw egg (to help bind it together for cooking)
After thoroughly mixing all the ingredients, the bowl was covered and placed
in the fridge for a day. The following day I moulded the chorizo into 60mm oval
balls and slowly fried them with a little oil.
Sage is a nice addition too, by the way, though on this occasion I left it out.
So, the stage was set. Lynne next made up her own enchilada sauce as follows-
This recipe makes about 2 cups, enough for a dozen enchiladas. For this meal
she made 2 dozen with red sauce and 1 dozen with green sauce. 12 chorizo, 12 chicken
and 12 vegetarian. Even though about 14 of us sat down to Sunday tea, we were
unable to devour the lot. However, I would have to say that it wasn’t a tragedy
as the enchiladas were even better re-heated the next day. (also a number of the
eaters were little kids, so they didn’t really go for it like the rest of us)
RED ENCHILADA SAUCE (enough for a dozen)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons minced onion
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon powdered cumin
2 tablespoons flour
1 bottle BYRON BAY CHILLI CO RED CAYENNE CHILLI SAUCE
(more or less to taste)
2 ½ cups water
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
OPTIONAL GREEN ENCHILADA SAUCE (enough for a dozen)
ENCHILADA FILLING (enough for a dozen)
250gm softened cream cheese (room temp or quick microwave will soften it)
½ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup green onions (like the song for those of you as old as me)
¼ cup sultanas
1 kilo chorizo (or cubed, cooked chicken, or for vegetarians, corn kernels, sliced
black olives and diced capsicum)
TORTILLAS AND CHEESE
12 large (200mm/8inch) flour tortillas (corn are good too if the tortillas are
nice and fresh, but you will need more as they are usually smaller) Personally,
I only believe in using corn if they have been made within a couple of days. Flour
tortillas on the other hand keep quite well these days, and are also okay when
frozen.
Don’t forget to have about 2 cups of shredded tasty cheese as well for topping
the enchiladas. Dry feta cheese is also really good too, the kind that crumbles.
Okay, so you take the chorizo that you made the day before, and couldn’t resist
eating part of it for your breakfast, and break it up into little bite size pieces.
Put it in a bowl, add all the other filling ingredients and mix together.
Now you are ready to assemble the enchiladas. The baking dishes we have usually
make about 8 enchiladas, so you may need a couple depending on the size of yours.
Put a layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan or pans, and start rolling
the enchiladas. The tortillas will work best if they have been slightly warmed,
either
in the microwave or in a hot, dry pan. Just enough to make them nice and flexible.
If you are using corn, you can dip them in warmed enchilada sauce before rolling,
but with flour this doesn’t seem to be necessary. I quick pass over the stove
top burner works too, but be careful if you aren’t used to this method, both you
and the tortillas might burn.
Lay the softened tortilla on a plate, and add a line of filling across the middle.
You should make the line of filling large enough so that once you have rolled
up the
tortilla around it, the enchilada is about 40mm in diameter. One by one, place
the rolled enchiladas seam side down in the sauced pan. Snuggle them up next to
each other so they will keep one another from becoming unrolled. A toothpick is
okay too
for this if necessary.
Once the pan is filled, top with more sauce, and some shredded cheese or
crumbled feta and they are ready for baking. Pop into a pre heated 180º C oven
and bake uncovered for about 25 minutes. Keep an eye on them, the cheese should
be bubbly, and the edges of the tortillas can be crisping, but don’t let them
burn or dry out.
with red onion, orange slices, avocado and lettuce. (dressed with oil and vinegar)
Also as usual we made margaritas the only way I will have them, with fresh lime.
(well, not the only way, but) Take a 700ml bottle of tequila, add a 350ml bottle
of Cointreau, and about 350ml of freshly squeezed lime juice, plus enough simple
syrup (sugar and water heated so it will blend) to keep us from puckering up.
Shake in batches with ice, preferably in a cocktail shaker with great character
and a story attached to it, and when nice and cold, pour into martini style glasses
if you have em.
Whew, that was a long recipe. It won’t take that long to eat them though, so
make
sure you have other activities in mind for after. Preferably not involving sports
or too much movement for a few hours.
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