Chi Wulff’s Friday Feast 26 November 2010: Not ‘Yo Mamma’s Creamy Green Turkey Enchiladas

Thanksgiving’s done.

Your belching brother-in-law has gone home, the dishes are washed, you’re tired of football and enjoyed a turkey sandwich or two.

You’ve got the itch to fish.

There’s still a pile of turkey in the fridge and the thought of another turkey sandwich doesn’t cut it.  The mere thought of spending much time cooking right now, or even worse, asking your significant other to cook something different, makes you feel tired all over.

Here’s just the thing – Not ‘Yo Mamma’s Creamy Green Turkey Enchiladas.  The key is the sauce.  Not another canned salsa and soup recipe, we’ve invoked thespicy green sauce holy trinity of tomatillos, cilantro and jalapenos to add some punch and depth to the sauce yet this recipe’s a cinch to put together.   [Aside - we remember that not everyone is a cilantro fan.  This recipe does use a lot - we can't imagine not using cilantro in this sauce - but it's not bad without it.  If you're a cilantro hater go ahead and put this one together - adding a few parsley leaves will bring that herbal note to the sauce that makes it several notches better than the soup based sauce versions.]

Our long time readers know we’ve always been partial to southwest / southern / spicy foods;  this is a great recipe to cut through some of the blandness of what otherwise delicious but traditional Thanksgiving menus can offer.

For the sauce

2 – 7 ounce cans salsa verde (your favorite)
1 – 4 ounce can chopped green chiles
1 – 4 ounce can chopped jalapenos
2/3 cup cilantro leaves (a few stems are ok)
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cumin

For the filling

2 cups shredded roast turkey (best with some dark meat included)
3 green onions, white and green parts, thin sliced
3 heaping tbs. room temp. cream cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

8-10 corn tortillas
Canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350.

Sauce – blend all six of the sauce ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Filling – stir together the turkey, green onions, cream cheese and 1 cup of the Monterey Jack in a bowl, mix well.

Heat a bit of oil in a small skillet over medium heat, soften the tortillas in the oil for 5-10 seconds per side, place on a paper towel to drain.  Place roughly 1/2 cup of the filling in the middle of the tortilla and roll the tortilla snugly around it.  Place seam side in a 7×11 baking dish.

Repeat to fill the dish….

Pour the green sauce over the enchiladas in the baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and hot.

Dig in immediately and serve with cold cerveza.

Enjoy.

A Friday Feast Note – the emails over the past week asking about our old recipes posted over the past few years have been noted and appreciated.  We’ll be reposting the old favorites over the next several months – let me know if there’s something in particular you’re looking for and I’ll send it to you or move it to the front of the line. – Mark

Tags: Friday Feast

Tagged as: Friday Feast