Today marks one week before we fly off to Sacramento for our 5-day tour of Amador wine country. Our wine touring companions, aka the "crew," were over for dinner and to review my menu for 14 that I posted a few blogs back. I think we got it all figured out...what with all the wine flowing the way it was (we're in training afterall! ;~)
Dinner: enchiladas verdes (authentic corn tortillas filled and rolled with tender, juicy, organic chicken, local monterey jack and cilantro, and smothered in an organic poblano and tomatillo sauce). It's a dish that I have a love-hate relationship with at this time of year: love the dish, hate the fact that poblanos and tomatillos can't grow in New England in February. I know one thing, though- I am going to stockpile, blacken and freeze poblanos this summer, like I did with all my excess sweet peppers last summer. No more of this 'poblanos from 3000 miles away' crap. Simply char your whole peppers, let cool, and then wrap tightly in baggies. I individually froze mine for easier use. While the crunch factor will be lost, you'll still have all the flavor, and then some. It's totally worth it.
The recipe I used was nabbed from an ATK episode--last season's, I think, and still unavailable online unless you register with ATK--and I haven't yet turned it into my own, so I thought I'd simply share pix of my nicely blackened organic poblanos that go into making the sauce. I complemented the sauce, too, with my very last pint of locally grown husk cherry salsa (our CSA grows husk cherries). Husk cherries, btw, are small tomatillos - found in the same genus as tomatillos. Sadly, the six of us ate the entire pan of 12 enchiladas before I remembered to take a picture! What a dummy, eh?
The peppers need to have that beautifully charred skin removed because it's bitter. After stemming and removing the seeds, coat the halves in olive oil and broil for as much as ten minutes right underneath the heating elements. Add seeds back in to the sauce if you want heat. Overall, expect a nicely tart yet sweet flavor from the peppers and tomatillos. With cumin and garlic and cilantro, it really tastes fresh and light, and is sure bet for entertaining.
For the complete recipe, simply register with ATK's site "for free" here.
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