I Got the Cover: Shrimp and Cotija Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Ok so I fibbed. I didn’t get the cover….a girl can dream right?

As I mentioned in a previous post we had a visitor last week.  I was at the grocery store walking up and down the aisles trying to decided what to make for dinner.  I decided to stop at the magazine rack and checkout what new mags are out.  I picked up this months issue of Bon Appetite and thiswas on the cover.  I just thought it was beautiful.  I skimmed through the magazine and checkout out the recipe and I though this is perfect for tonight, so I dropped it into my cart and started shopping for my ingredients.

These enchiladas where delicious, and considering they are shrimp very filling.  I half-ed the recipe since I was only feeding 3 people instead of 6, used the feta cheese which was perfect and since I couldn’t find poblao peppers I used jalapeno instead.  Which gave it some more heat and we all liked that.

I highly recommend you pick up the issue because there are other great recipes in there and this one was YUM-EEEEEEE!  Also, do not cheat or flake out and buy a salsa verde because this sauce make all the difference.   However I did add some fresh lime juice to mine which just kicked it up a notch and it was perfect.

Check it out!  Here is my little step-by-step

Here is a tomatillo if you have never seen one.  They look like little green tomatoes when you peel off the husk.  They are in fact part of the tomato family.

Peel the husk off of all your tomatoes and be sure to give them a good wash because they are a little sticky.

   

Cut the tomatillos in half, set aside.

  

Cut your jalepenos or poblanos in half and remove the seeds.  Be sure not to touch your face or eyes when handling peppers.  It is actually best to use gloves when handling peppers.  Which I did not demonstrate here….then I touched my eye and it burned. 

 

Get yourself 3 large unpeeled cloves of garlic.

Coat a baking sheet with olive oil and lay your tomatillos & pepper cut side down with the garlic cloves, place in the broiler for about 10 mins.  Keep a close eye on them you don’t want them to burn and do not turn them.

Meanwhile back at the cutting board.  Slice a red tomato, some green onion and get your 1 cup of cilantro, set aide.

 

   

TA-DA here are your peppers & tomatillos ready to go.  Allow them to cool for about 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle.

Peel the garlic and remove the skin from the peppers and dice.

 

Then in a food processor add your tomatillos, garlic and 1/2 of the peppers.

   

Pulse a few times.

Then add your cilantro and green onions, pulse some more.

  

You should get something that looks like this.   Pour it into a large bowl, add lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

Get a large skillet nice and hot, add your onions and saute until they are starting to get soft.

 

Then add your shrimp, cumin & and oregano to the skillet. 

(Yes I forgot to take pictures of the cumin and oregano.  :P)

 

Sauté just until shrimp are almost opaque but not completely cooked through, tossing often, 3 to 3 1/2 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Take your pan and drizzle it with olive oil, the add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the salsa verde. Set aside.  (I say that a lot huh?)

 

Put another 1/4 cup of the salsa in a plate and coat the tortillas with the salsa. 

 

Now you can start to assemble your enchiladas.  I put 4 shrimp with onions and peppers,  in each of my enchiladas topped with some sauce and feta cheese.  Roll them up and place them seam down in the prepared dish.

 

Pour the remaining salsa over the enchiladas.

 Then sprinkle some of that yummy feta cheese over the enchiladas.  If you are not a fan of feta do not fret.  Hubby isn’t a fan but he loved these enchiladas.  I think that some how the salsa cuts the feta taste an bit. 

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

YUM-EEE sooooo good.  Come here to my plate, do not be afraid little “chilada” I will not hurt you.

I will dress you up and take photos of you.  Make you look very pretty…….

NOT!!!!!  Nom….nom…..nom….

Here is the breakdown.  Must make & must eat…..because I said so.

Shrimp and Cotija Enchiladas with Salsa Verde (adapted from Bon Apepetit)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos,* husked, rinsed 
2 large fresh jalepano chiles,* halved lengthwise, cored, seeded 
2 unpeeled garlic cloves
1/2 Tbs fresh lime juice
1 cups (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro plus additional for garnish
1/2 cup (packed) chopped green onions 
3/4 cup chopped red onion plus thinly sliced red onion rounds for garnish 
24 uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined  
1 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano 
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
6 5 1/2- to 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas 
6 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 1/2 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 1/2 of the chopped chiles to processor (reserve remaining chiles for enchilada filling). Add 1 cups cilantro and 1/2 cup green onions to processor; using on/off turns, blend until coarse puree forms. Season salsa verde to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/2 cup salsa verde to shallow bowl.

Heat 1 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 11x8x2-inch glass baking dish with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Spread 1/4 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 the 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 remaining 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.