Kale and Black Bean Enchiladas with Green Sauce

I'm not gonna lie - this recipe takes a little bit of time and effort. However, it's worth every minute, AND you can make a big tray of these enchiladas and enjoy them throughout the week. They're packed with good-for-you kale, and the creamy cilantro-scallion-coriander-cumin sauce is so good that I had to stop myself from eating it with a spoon! Adapted from epicurious.

Sauce

• 1/2 16-ounce package frozen chopped kale, available at Whole Foods. You could also use fresh kale for this - just wash and chop it into small pieces first. Alternately, you can easily sub in other green ingredients, like spinach.
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
•  2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 green onions, minced (I included the white parts)
• About 2-3 tablespoons sliced jalapenos from a jar. (Can be upped or decreased based on your spice preferences)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Enchiladas

• 12 6-inch corn tortillas
• 1/2 16-ounce package of frozen kale or spinach (again, it's fine to use fresh - just wash and chop first)
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander

• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, or extra milk

For sauce:
Warm the frozen kale or spinach until it's just melted, but not hot. (I usually dump it in a pan with a little water, heat it for a few minutes, then drain it well. If you're using fresh, you can use the same method - just stir it around in a pan with a little bit of water over medium heat until it wilts). Set aside. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add flour and stir mixture 2 minutes; do not brown. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in half the kale/spinach, the 1/2 cup cilantro, 2 green onions, chilies, cumin, coriander and red pepper. Puree in batches in processor until almost smooth. (If it's a little dry, you can add more milk at this stage). Season with salt and pepper. 

For enchiladas:
Combine the rest of the kale or spinach with the black beans, cheddar, and the rest of the cilantro, green onion, cumin, and coriander. Warm the tortillas so they're a little more flexible (I stuck mine in the microwave). Place a few spoonfuls of the filling (about 1/4 cup) in the middle of each tortilla, then roll it up. Place seam side down in large glass baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Stir sour cream into sauce, and pour over enchiladas. Bake until cheese melts and enchiladas are heated through, about 25 minutes.

Spiced-Up Hot Chocolate

This recipe is from Craigie on Main, a fancy-schmancy restaurant in Cambridge . . . the spices are a little Indian, a little Mexican, a lotta yummy.

about 1/2 cup dark (70%) chocolate
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup butter
4 teaspoons white sugar

Grind the following and add to taste:
approximately 3 green cardamom pods - toast the cardamom, crush and discard the green shell, and grind the black seeds inside the pod
1/2 stick cinnamon (Mexican if possible)
1/2 tsp chili flakes (preferably ancho)

Put all ingredients in a pot, stir and simmer constantly until it reaches the consistency you desire. The final yield will depend on how much you reduce the cocoa while cooking but the above recipe should make approx 10 espresso cup portions.

This cocoa is super-rich and smaller servings are usually enough.

Texas Flour Tortillas

Amanda whipped these up as an accompaniment to guacamole and spicy fried tofu last night . . . and they were met with universal acclaim and then silence as we couldn't stop eating them. They are So. Frikkin'. Good.

This recipe was taken from http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com, whose author adapted them from The Border Cookbook by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. It'll make 8 tortillas.

Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of warm milk

Method:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil. Slowly add the warm milk. Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed. Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.

Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes. After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)

After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat. Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil. While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.

Karin's Fabulous Tortilla Soup

This light but filling soup is packed with veggies and feels like a special treat every time. It's so quick and easy even folks with little cooking experience can make it! It is best to use stale tortillas but fresh ones will work too.

5 cups vegetable broth (I like to use vegan bullion cubes)
one bunch of green onions chopped
three zucchini or squash sliced thick
2 cobs of fresh corn, remove the kernels or just break each cob into thirds (this is more traditional)
ten corn tortillas (in a pinch you could use about 1 1/2 cup stale tortillas chips)
2 tbsp oil
a few shakes of chili powder
1/8 tsp cumin freshly ground cumin
1/2 tsp "Italian seasoning mix" or oregano, sage and tarragon

Add all ingredients less the tortillas and oil to a stew pot. Cover and bring to a simmer. Heat up the vegetable oil in a skillet. Add tortillas (if using chips skip this step) and toss them in the pan until they are evenly coated with oil. Saute them on medium to medium high turning them frequently until they become browned in some areas about five minutes. When the vegetables are nearly the desired firmness (I usually let them cook about ten to fifteen minutes) throw in the tortilla "chips" you made. Remove from heat and let steam a minute before serving, if you used store bought tortilla chips allow the soup to sit until the chips soften.