Tomatillo Soup

Apparently October is tomatillo season, i have made so many dishes with canned tomatillos, and suddenly there are everywhere. On the long weekend i was enjoying the sunshine walking through Kensington Market and thought i would pic up a few things - and right there were all these tomatillos (the green ones this time). I had to get some more since i didn't know the next time i would see them!

I wasn't going to make enchiladas again, and although that salsa is really good i wanted to find out what else was possible with them. I poked around on the internet and didn't find anything that i was especially impressed with. I had them a couple of days looking for some inspiration, when i thought about seeing tomatillo soup on a menu somewhere in the States, but it had chicken on it so i hadn't tried it. Tomatillo soup it would be.

I cut up some potatoes, jalapenos and these spicier dark green peppers. First i sauteed the garlic and onion, then added the other ingredients. Once they were cooking, i added some veggie stock and brought it to a boil until everything was tender. I used my emersion blender to break it up, but i did leave quite a bit of texture.

Soup wasn't enough, and i still had some of the left over tortillas so i made some simple quesadillas with cheese, red onions, tomatoes, jalapenos and cilantro.

I also cut up some the extra tortillas into strips and baked them, using them as a crunchy topping.

Soup!

Haddock Enchiladas

I like fish, and i like mexican food, so at any opportunity i have i will combine them into a little something tasty - usually when i'm cooking for eric. I had been at the Orangeville famer's market the week before, and had purchased a few things along with purple tomatillos. I had never seen them, and to be honest i find it very hard to find tomatillos at any time let alone funky purple ones.

Unfortunately something is really weird about the pictures in this entry and i couldn't fix them, so i apologize how this doesn't flow - but the meal itself was really good and i think its worth trying... (if you can figure it out)

Above: Enchiladas ready for the oven

Four types of sauce for the enchiladas: guacamole, roasted tomatillo sauce, salsa and lime sour cream

Digging in!



The tomatillos - aren't they cute!


I mixed them with tomatoes, onions, garlic and jalapenos, tossing them with olive oil and cumin before roasting them on parchment paper. (easier clean up).

Once they came out they were nice an juicy, i just added them to the blender and pureed till mainly smooth

I had roasted the haddock in the oven, and made sure to undercook it as it woul finish in while the dish was heating and the cheese was melting. I warmed the torillas in my bamboo steamer because i like the texture. I cut up some tomatoes, grated some cheese and had a few jalapenos ready to assemble the dish.

Sauce, cheese veggies and a couple of springs of arugula I then added the fish. I rolled up about 6 and added them to the baking pan until it was full. I then added more of the tomatillo sauce and grated cheese. I covered it with aluminum foil, then heated it through, about 10 minutes, removing the foil and setting it to broil for the last two.

Once it was finished i topped it with some lightly dressed arugula and we were off!

Cinco de Mayo Enchiladas

To celebrate Cinqo de Mayo i decided to make a bastardized mexican enchilada dish. I didn't have any recipe to go with this but since i've made similar ones i figured i could just wing it.



None of the ingredients were anything too special. I wanted to make the Tomatillo salsa/enchilada sauce again - so i roasted some peppers, garlic and onions to add to the canned Tomatillos.




Once they were roasted i added them and the tomatillos to the food processor to make the sauce.


I was also going to make some dips, so since the packages of tortillas are so big i thought i would bake some chips which would be a lot healthier. I lightly brushed them with some olive oil spiced with red peppers.


I then laid them out on a baking sheet - paying attention to them in the oven. I also made a dip of feta, tomato, onions and jalapenos for dips and guac. (not pictured)


For enchilada toppings i had cabbage, onions and jalapenos.


Previously, working with corn tortillas i've either fried them or baked them, but i had read about steaming them in a bamboo steamer so i did that. They were good, but i think if you're in the mood for something a little more decadent fry them. I appreciate the crispness, and i think they create a little more texture for the dish.


Making the enchiladas i put enough of the sauce to coat the bottom of the baking dish and set aside. To assemble them i simply put some of the tomatillo sauce down, then black beans (rinsed) and some goat cheese and cabbage. I rolled them up and added them to the waiting dish


Once i had filled the dish with rolled tortillas i topped the dish with the rest of the sauce then added the goat cheese, a mexican cheese blend and sprinkled with black beans. I covered it in foil, baking for about 10 minutes at 425, then removing the foil and allowing the top to brown and crisp up.

So authentic! (not)

Marlin Tacos on a Thursday Night

Eric, my guest chef from last week, and i have been making fish tacos for a while now. The originated apparently in Baja, and they are a lighter version of tacos and you tend to have them with cabbage. Often when i'm lazy i'll make them with already breaded frozen fish, haddock or halibut are nice options, but in honour of the worst month of them all - February, i thought i would get some fresh fish and make a light panko breading. When i was at the supermarket i saw some really nice Marlin steaks - i hadn't had Marlin in years, and knew it was a nice meaty white fish that would bake up well, so i grabbed a piece.

This is one of those meals where most of the work is actually in the chopping. As topping for the tacos i had cabbage (three types, but you can easily use the bagged kind) jalapenos, tomatoes, red onions, limes and i made a tomatillo sauce and guacamole. The tomatillo sauce was something i had read about, and after using canned tomatillos in the shrimp enchiladas i though that it might be a nice, fresh and tangy addition to the fish tacos. This was actually the most time consuming part of the whole process - i blended a tin of tomatillos with a hot yellow and two green serrano peppers and some cilantro. I cooked that for a few minutes, then added a cup of veggie stock. I cooked that for twenty minutes until it had reduced. I liked this one and thought it was a good addition to the marlin.

As for the fish, instead of using frozen filets (which is a great way to make these quickly) I cut the Marlin into larger than bite sized pieces, dredged them in flour, then egg mixture and finally lightly coated them in panko breading which i thought would lighten the meal up. I put them in a lightly oiled baking dish and baked them at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, flipping them once. Marlin is one of those fishes you don't have too worry too much about overcooking; unlike a lot of other fishes it is pretty hearty. For the last ten minutes i added the corn tortillas wrapped in aluminum foil. Once they both were done we were ready to eat!

Above:

My first taco
Tomatillo sauce
Marlin
Marlin breaded and ready for the oven
The meal