Shrimp and Cotija Enchiladas

Unless I am baking, I rarely follow a recipe to the letter.  It feels stifling and there is always some twist you can provide to "make it your own."  I love to read recipes though.  One can find great inspiration from a new combination of ingredients or a new twist on an old stand-by.  I collect cookbooks and love to read cooking magazines.

I recently started receiving Bon Appetit thanks to some leftover airline miles.  After many years and many cooking magazines, I believe a lot of the recipes featured are simply a sales pitch to try the featured chef's new restaurant or buy a product featured in the recipe.  Very few of the cooking magazine recipes are truly geared to the home cook with basic equipment and easy-to-find basic ingredients that are within the average family budget.  Many are simply terrible or just don't work right.  In the last few months since I have been receiving it, however, Bon Appetit has provided me with really great ideas and delicious food.  While my mother in law was here last month, I tried a couple of recipes from the June issue that were just screaming to be eaten from the pages.  I have reprinted the recipe here and I even followed the recipe to the letter.  These were unbelievably good.


Shrimp and Cotija Enchiladas with Salsa Verde and Crema Mexicana

If the poblanos aren't hot enough, add some chopped jalapeños to the salsa verde. Garnish enchiladas with fresh avocado slices and drizzle with crema mexicana (a nutty cultured cream available at some supermarkets and at Latin markets) or stirred sour cream if crema is unavailable.

6 servings

Recipe by Lena Cederham Birnbaum

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 1/2 pounds tomatillos,* husked, rinsed

4 large fresh poblano chiles,* halved lengthwise, cored, seeded

4 unpeeled garlic cloves

2 cups (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro plus additional for garnish

1 cup (packed) chopped green onions

1 1/4 cups chopped red onion plus thinly sliced red onion rounds for garnish

48 uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

12 5 1/2- to 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas

12 oz crumbled Cotija or feta cheese, divided

* Available in the produce section of some supermarkets and at Latin markets.

Preparation

Preheat broiler. Line large rimmed baking sheet with foil; brush lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Arrange tomatillos, poblano chiles, cut side down, and garlic cloves on prepared baking sheet. Broil until tomatillos and chiles begin to soften and blacken in several spots, watching closely to prevent burning, about 10 minutes (do not turn). Remove from oven. Let stand until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.

Transfer tomatillos to processor. Peel garlic and add to processor. Peel charred parts of chiles; coarsely chop chiles. Add generous 1/3 cup chopped chiles to processor (reserve remaining chiles for enchilada filling). Add 2 cups cilantro and 1 cup green onions to processor; using on/off turns, blend until coarse puree forms. Season salsa verde to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 1/2 cups salsa verde to shallow bowl.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped red onion and sauté until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper. Add shrimp, oregano, cumin, and remaining chopped chiles to skillet; sauté just until shrimp are almost opaque but not completely cooked through, tossing often, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Remove shrimp mixture from heat.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup salsa verde from processor in bottom of dish. Stack tortillas; wrap in damp paper towels and place on plate. Microwave tortillas on high just until soft and pliable, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, dip tortilla into bowl with 1 1/2 cups salsa verde, turning to coat both sides evenly. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Place 4 shrimp and some onion-chile mixture down center of tortilla, then sprinkle rounded tablespoonful cheese over. Roll up tortilla, enclosing shrimp and onion-chile filling. Place seam side down in dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas, shrimp, onion-chile mixture, and cheese. Spread 2 cups salsa verde from processor over enchiladas.

Bake enchiladas just until heated through and cheese melts, about 20 minutes. Using spatula, transfer 2 enchiladas to each of 6 plates. Spoon any remaining salsa verde over; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Drizzle with crema and garnish with red onion slices and additional chopped cilantro, if desired.