Spinach Enchiladas
Overview
Enchiladas are corn tortillas rolled around a filling, covered in sauce and baked, a Mexican dish with a long history, and this version fills them with spinach and cheese. The name comes from the Spanish enchilar, to season with chilli, and the dish predates Spanish arrival: rolling tortillas around a filling is documented in Mexico well before the colonial period. What changed afterwards was the range of fillings, particularly cheese and meat from European livestock. The critical technique, and the one most often skipped, is what happens to the tortillas before filling. Corn tortillas crack if rolled cold. Warming them briefly in oil or on a dry pan makes them pliable, and it also stops them dissolving into the sauce during baking. Skipping this is why home-made enchiladas so often come out of the oven as a single soft mass. Spinach and cheese is one of the standard vegetarian fillings, and the sauce can be red, green or a mole depending on the region and the cook. **Filed as Worldwide.** Enchiladas are Mexican, not African. The page is kept and reclassified rather than removed.
AFN Heritage Note
Enchiladas take their name from the Spanish enchilar, to season with chilli. Rolling tortillas around a filling is documented in Mexico before the colonial period, with cheese and meat fillings arriving with European livestock.
Ingredients
Dietary tags come from contributors and AFN does not verify them. They also depend on the products you buy. Recipes here are published for learning, not as medical or dietary advice. If you have an allergy or a medical condition, check every ingredient yourself and talk to a doctor or dietitian. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- 2
Wilt the spinach in a pan with a little oil. Drain excess moisture and chop roughly.
- 3
Mix the wilted spinach with ricotta or cream cheese, half the grated cheddar, garlic, and season with salt and pepper.
- 4
Warm the tortillas briefly in a pan or microwave to make them pliable.
- 5
Place a generous spoonful of the spinach filling along the centre of each tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam-side down in a greased baking dish.
- 6
Pour the tomato sauce evenly over the rolled enchiladas.
- 7
Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the top.
- 8
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the edges are lightly golden.
Africook’s Notes
- Warm the tortillas in oil or on a dry pan before rolling. Cold corn tortillas crack, and unwarmed ones disintegrate in the sauce.
- Squeeze the spinach genuinely dry. Wet filling waters down the sauce and makes the base soggy.
- Roll them seam side down in the dish so they do not unravel while baking.
- Do not over-sauce. Enough to cover, not enough to swim, or the tortillas dissolve.
Questions cooks ask
Corn or flour tortillas?
Corn is traditional and is what an enchilada is properly made with. Flour tortillas are used in some Tex-Mex versions and are more forgiving because they do not crack, but they give a softer, doughier result. If using corn, warming them first is essential.
Why do mine fall apart?
The tortillas were not warmed before rolling. Cold corn tortillas are brittle and crack as you roll them, then absorb sauce and disintegrate during baking. A few seconds each in hot oil, or on a dry pan, makes them pliable and gives them a surface that resists the sauce.
Is this an African dish?
No, enchiladas are Mexican. This recipe sits in the Worldwide collection, which exists for non-African dishes that already have live pages on the platform. Keeping and reclassifying the page avoids breaking a link that currently works for anyone who finds it through search.
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