Spanish Enchiladas

When life, or Tortilla Land as the case may be, sends you 144 tortillas, you make enchiladas. Well, okay, you don't have to make enchiladas but why wouldn't you want to? What's not to love...bold flavors wrapped up in tortillas and then sauced and baked until the edges get crispy and crunchy and the sauce seems to melt into everything, saturating it with flavor. Oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about..

When I received these tortillas, my first thought, admittedly, was what makes these so special? At first glance, they look like your average store-bought tortilla. I didn't pay much attention to the package, or instructions, and when I pulled them out, something was obviously very different - it was flattened dough! All it took was some love from a hot skillet and these tortillas were softened, yet developed pockets of little crispy bits. Without a doubt, these are way better than any store bought tortilla I've ever had.

As I previously mentioned, when I saw these, I immediately thought they'd make some pretty killer enchiladas, but I wanted to shake things up a bit and not go for the traditional Mexican-style route. Instead, I opted to make them Spanish, calling on smoked paprika, briny olives and sweet roasted red peppers to create a rich and flavorful sauce that was deep red in color. To fill the enchiladas, I made a quick rub for some pork tenderloin and then added some earthy spinach that I soaked in some of the sauce before wrapping it all up. To finish it all off, a couple minutes before serving I shredded some Manchego cheese on top and topped it all off with a dollop of smoky cilantro sour cream.

I really liked the Spanish twist on this Mexican classic and was reminded that I don't cook Spanish food nearly as much as I'd like to. The worse part is, I have no excuse. My bookshelf carries a respectable amount of Spanish cookbooks and heck, I've even been to Spain. Clearly, I need to fix this...Here's to more Spanish food to come!

Check out the recipe after the jump!

Spanish Enchiladas
8 Tortilla Land Tortillas, heated according to the package

1 - 28 oz. can whole peeled, tomatoes
Extra Virgin Olive oil for the pan

1/2 onion, roughly diced
1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped

2 red peppers

1 TBS smoked paprika
1/2 TBS cumin
1/2 TBS coriander 

1 tsp. Sherry vinegar

1/2 cup Spanish olives

1 chipotle pepper
Pork and Spinach filling (recipe below)
Smokey Cilantro Topping (optional, recipe below)

Grated Manchego cheese for the top

In a medium-sized sauce pan, heat extra virgin olive oil (enough to lightly coat the pan) and add onions and a bit of salt. Heat until they start to soften and then add the garlic, cumin, coriander and smoked paprika and then heat until the garlic softens. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, roast the red peppers, either on top of a gas stove or broiled in the oven until the outside chars. Once this happens, put the peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside until you can comfortably peel the char off of them.

In a blender of food processor, combine the onion/garlic mixture, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, Spanish Olives and chipotle pepper. Mix until well combined. Add the sherry vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the enchiladas, lay out the tortillas and fill each one with a couple slices of pork and a small bunch of spinach. Wrap the tortilla tightly and place in a rectangular oven proof baking dish that has a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Place the tortilla rolls side-by-side and top with remaining sauce, leaving a little bit of tortilla end exposed (this will crisp up nicely in the oven!) Bake at 400 until the sides start to crisp up and turn golden brown (about 30 minutes). Top with Manchego cheese and a dollop of the smoky cilantro topping. Serve immediately.

For the filling:

1 pork tenderloin 

1 bag of baby spinach

Zest of 1 lime

1/2 TBS smoked paprika

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan

Salt and Pepper

Start by salting the pork tenderloin and letting it sit for a couple minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine the lime zest, smoked paprika, olive oil and a liberal amount of salt and pepper to the bowl. Mix to create a thick paste and then spread over the tenderloin evenly. In a large skillet, heat extra virgin olive oil until very hot. Carefully add the meat and sear it on all sides. Bake in the oven until until the meat is heated through but still slightly pink in the center.

Wilt the spinach in a large skillet and top with some of the sauce. Set aside.

Optional Smoky Cilantro Topping:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cilantro

1/2 TBS Smoked Paprika

Combine sour cream, cilantro and smoked paprika. Combine thoroughly and chill until ready to use.