Tag Archives: Corn

Collard-Wrapped Chicken Enchiladas

Posted in Dinners, Mexican by

2016 was not a good year for many reasons, and it seemed to impact my ability to post recipes. Not that I didn’t cook often…. Just prioritized my hunger over taking pictures and capturing every ingredient and step :-/ Of all the wonderful recipes I cooked last year and neglected to share, this one stuck with me the most. I first put this recipe together last fall after I received a bunch of collard greens in a produce delivery box. The only time I had ever had a collard was in the south and they had been slow cooked to the point that they hardly resembled the beautiful bright green HUGE leaves that they once were. My raw vegan friend had been using collards to make veggie wraps and that seemed like an interesting – albeit bland – route to go. I decided I would take a stab at using the collards as some sort of wrap but I would definitely be cooking them and definitely be incorporating meat some way. After clicking around through a handful of recipes I landed on enchiladas and I was happily surprised with the end result. I just moved into a new, awesome apartment with my boyfriend and I knew I wanted to recreate this dish ASAP and this time I remembered to take pictures. I love making my own sauce but that’s totally not necessary for this recipe (bottled enchilada sauce works fine, maybe even better).

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Ingredients:

  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp ancho powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 cup corn (fresh or thawed from frozen)
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (bottled or homemade)
  • 6 extra large collard greens, stems removed from leaves
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
  • 1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
  • Toppings: chopped cilantro, sour cream, cotija cheese

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Heat oil in a heavy cast iron over medium high heat. Combine spices and season both sides of the chicken breasts. Cook chicken through, approximately 7 minutes per side. Set chicken on a plate off to the side. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred by hand.
  • Add onions to the pan with the chicken drippings and sauté until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add garlic and corn and continue cooking for another minute. Add shredded chicken, cilantro and 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat until ready to assemble.
  • Blanch the collard greens by cooking in boiling, salted water for 15 seconds. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to dry.
  • Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 dish. Spoon 1/4 cup of chicken filling into each collard green and fold / roll to seal. Place each enchilada in the dish, seam side down. Cover enchiladas with remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and both cheeses.
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and melted. Serve with toppings.

Spicy Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder

Posted in Soups by

So, seasons in San Francisco are totally whack. We have summer temps in the winter and now that June is here it’s COLD. One thing I can count on is summer produce and that means fresh, delicious, sweet corn. Mmmmmm sweet corn. I love making corn and black bean salsa or some type of succotash… Basically dishes that use spice to balance out the corn’s sweetness. I wanted to try something new and because soups are my jam, I decided to try my hand at a chowder. Since it’s bathing suit season I wanted to lighten it up and replace the heavy fatness with summer freshness. By finely chopping the mirepoix and letting the sweet potatoes break down during the cooking you create a natural thickness to the soup that eliminates the need of a full cup of heavy cream (I like to add a little at the end to bring it all together still).

What you’ll need:

  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 4 ears of corn, kernels cut off and cobs reserved
  • 4 pieces of applewood smoked bacon, cut into lardons
  • 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 jalapenos, chopped (leave the seeds/stems for extra spice)
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 tsps cayenne pepper
  • Salt + freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/4 chopped parsley

Directions:

  • Place stock and corn cobs in a pot over medium-low heat. Simmer to infuse the stock with the corn flavor.
  • In a large pot or dutch oven saute the bacon lardons over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spatula and place on paper towels to drain. There should be about 3-4 tablespoons bacon fat left in the pot (add butter if you feel there’s not enough fat).
  • Saute onion, carrots, and celery over medium heat for 4 minutes or until translucent and tender. Add the bell pepper, jalapenos, garlic, and cayenne and saute for another minute. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook until the color turns to blond, about two minutes.
  • Remove cobs from the stock and add to the veggie mixture. Stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients including corn kernels and cook for another 20 minutes.
  • Just before serving add parsley to the soup. Ladle into bowls and top with the crispy bacon. Enjoy!

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