Feeling hot, hot, hot! Maria's Beef Enchillitos
Ever since I read Tammy's review of Chiquitos (http://thenotsohairybiker.blogspot.com/2011/07/yesterday-afternoon-we-went-to-watch.html), I've had a hankering for some Mexican food. I knew I wanted it to be hot and spicy and contain beef, wraps and cheese, but didn't know what to make.
I did a bit of internet research, but was still non the wiser. When I ordered the shopping last week I made sure I stocked up on coriander, lean mince, avocados, corn tortillas etc, so I could have a good think about it and be prepared. A bit more research made my head spin - chimichangas, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas the list was endless...so I decided to add to the confusion by making up my own...
Maria's Beef Enchillitos
Heat the oven to GM5, 190C, 375F
First finely chop a couple of red onions and fry them in some light olive oil, with 2 sliced cloves of garlic. When the onions have started to soften and go golden I added the lean beef mince, breaking it up so it cooked as mince and not lumps. Fry until it's all sealed and brown. Next sprinkle on a couple of teaspoons of sweet paprika (you could use hot or smoked), a teaspoon of dried coriander leaf and a couple of teaspoons of ground cumin, then a good squirt of tomato pureé (about half a tube), some beef stock and a tin of sweetcorn. Season well. Let this all cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, to end up with a moist beef sauce, but not to juicy.
After 15 minutes, I reserved some of the sauce for Lauren. You can obviously miss this part out if you don't have a Lauren in the house and add the chilli at the same time as the other herbs and spices.
Then to the remaining sauce I added a teaspoon of chilli powder (alter according to taste) and cooked for a further 5-10 minutes. At the last minute I stirred in a handful of chopped, fresh coriander and turned off the heat.
Take a packet of corn tortillas, allow 1-2 per person depending if lunch or dinner, adult or child, hungry or not. Remove from the packaging and place in some kitchen roll, then heat in the microwave for about 15 seconds until they are warm. This helps to keep them pliable for the folding.
Lay them out on a worktop and spoon piles of the spicy, beef mixture into the middle. Now you can either roll them like cannelloni, roll them like spring rolls, fold them into triangles, but what ever you decide lay the parcels in a lightly-oiled oven proof dish in a way that they will stay individual and keep their filling.
Finally sprinkle over a generous amount of cheese I used Monterey Jack, but you could use cheddar or any hard cheese that melts well.
Cover your dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the cheese looks good.
We really enjoyed eating these, although I think I added a bit too much chilli for my liking! It was really nice to have something different and I served them with the following side dishes....
Guacamole
Mix 4 chopped tomatoes, a handful of chopped, fresh coriander, half a chopped onion, 2 green chillies finely chopped, juice of half a lemon, season really well and put aside for half an hour. When the time is up, scoop out and mash the flesh of 1 ripe avocado, add to the mixture, making sure everything is well mixed.
If you're not eating straight away, put the avocado stone into the guacamole and cover the surface with cling film to stop it discolouring. Remove film and stone before serving.
Refried Beans
Boil a large tin (440g) of red kidney beans, in water with 2 cloves of garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of sugar, half and onion - sliced and 2 whole chillies. Cook until the beans are soft and the water has evaporated.
Mash the beans. Slice the other half of onion and fry in some oil until soft, then add the beans, fry and mash and fry and mash until you are ready to serve adding oil and water as they dry. I like to serve them quite moist.
That's all for today, I have no plans for the rest of the week...but in the fridge I have some left over tortilla, some peppers de padron, some chicken thigh, some bacon and plenty of eggs.
Don't forget Rick Steins Spain starts tonight ...now in fact....see you soon!
I did a bit of internet research, but was still non the wiser. When I ordered the shopping last week I made sure I stocked up on coriander, lean mince, avocados, corn tortillas etc, so I could have a good think about it and be prepared. A bit more research made my head spin - chimichangas, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas the list was endless...so I decided to add to the confusion by making up my own...
Maria's Beef Enchillitos
Heat the oven to GM5, 190C, 375F
First finely chop a couple of red onions and fry them in some light olive oil, with 2 sliced cloves of garlic. When the onions have started to soften and go golden I added the lean beef mince, breaking it up so it cooked as mince and not lumps. Fry until it's all sealed and brown. Next sprinkle on a couple of teaspoons of sweet paprika (you could use hot or smoked), a teaspoon of dried coriander leaf and a couple of teaspoons of ground cumin, then a good squirt of tomato pureé (about half a tube), some beef stock and a tin of sweetcorn. Season well. Let this all cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, to end up with a moist beef sauce, but not to juicy.
After 15 minutes, I reserved some of the sauce for Lauren. You can obviously miss this part out if you don't have a Lauren in the house and add the chilli at the same time as the other herbs and spices.
 |
| Maria's Beef Enchillitos with refried beans and guacamole and a bit of cucumber for the heat! |
Take a packet of corn tortillas, allow 1-2 per person depending if lunch or dinner, adult or child, hungry or not. Remove from the packaging and place in some kitchen roll, then heat in the microwave for about 15 seconds until they are warm. This helps to keep them pliable for the folding.
Lay them out on a worktop and spoon piles of the spicy, beef mixture into the middle. Now you can either roll them like cannelloni, roll them like spring rolls, fold them into triangles, but what ever you decide lay the parcels in a lightly-oiled oven proof dish in a way that they will stay individual and keep their filling.
Finally sprinkle over a generous amount of cheese I used Monterey Jack, but you could use cheddar or any hard cheese that melts well.
Cover your dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the cheese looks good.
We really enjoyed eating these, although I think I added a bit too much chilli for my liking! It was really nice to have something different and I served them with the following side dishes....
Guacamole
Mix 4 chopped tomatoes, a handful of chopped, fresh coriander, half a chopped onion, 2 green chillies finely chopped, juice of half a lemon, season really well and put aside for half an hour. When the time is up, scoop out and mash the flesh of 1 ripe avocado, add to the mixture, making sure everything is well mixed.
If you're not eating straight away, put the avocado stone into the guacamole and cover the surface with cling film to stop it discolouring. Remove film and stone before serving.
 |
| The guacamole mix before the avocado is added |
Boil a large tin (440g) of red kidney beans, in water with 2 cloves of garlic, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of sugar, half and onion - sliced and 2 whole chillies. Cook until the beans are soft and the water has evaporated.
Mash the beans. Slice the other half of onion and fry in some oil until soft, then add the beans, fry and mash and fry and mash until you are ready to serve adding oil and water as they dry. I like to serve them quite moist.
 |
| Refried beans, cooking in the pan |
Don't forget Rick Steins Spain starts tonight ...now in fact....see you soon!
This sounds delicious!! We've not had anything like this since we were in Mexico and that was 5 years ago. Definitely going to give this one a try xx
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