Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

I made these enchiladas for I Heart Cooking Clubs theme of the week, From the Earth. This recipe has 10 goodies from the earth (tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapenos, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, zucchini, counting the corn in the tortillas and the cilantro), not to mention the cheese and cream from our bovine friends, so I thought it would be the perfect pick this week. This is probably the most in depth Mexican recipe I've ever made.  It was something totally new to me since I'd never cooked with tomatillos before and wasn't quite sure what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed this dish very much! I'm sure I'll be buying many more tomatillos as we cook through Rick Bayless recipes for the next few months.

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce and Melted Cheese

Rick Bayless -- Fiesta at Rick's

1 lb. (6 to 8) tomatillos, husked and rinsed (thank you Whole Foods, for being the only place to have tomatillos in a 100 mile radius of my house)

1 medium white onion, sliced about ¼ in. thick (even though I don't like onions I did use them in this sauce since I knew they would be pureed)

3 garlic cloves, peeled

Hot green chiles to taste (2 to 3 serranos, or 1 to 2 jalapeños), stemmed

1 1/2 tbs. vegetable oil, plus extra for vegetables and tortillas

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, plus a little extra if needed
1/2 cup Mexican crema, crème fraîche, or heavy whipping cream
8 cups cubed vegetables (about 1/2-in.) -- I used sweet potatoes, parsnips, zucchini, and carrots
Salt
12 corn tortillas
2/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese like asadero, or Monterey Jack or cheddar
Sliced white onion rings, for garnish
Fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (not in the photo but I did use it :) )

Roast tomatillos, sliced onion, garlic, and chiles on rimmed baking sheet 4 in. below preheated broiler until tomatillos are soft and blackened in spots on one side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn vegetables over; broil about 4 minutes longer. Remove and reduce oven temperature to 400°F.

Scrape tomatillo mixture into food processor or blender. Process until smooth purée. Heat 11/2 tbs. oil in medium-large pot over medium-high heat. When drop of purée sizzles in oil, add remainder of purée. Stir constantly for several minutes until darker and thicker. Add broth and crema, reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Spread cubed vegetables on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and mix to coat evenly. Place in oven and roast, turning vegetables regularly, until crunchy-tender, about 25 minutes (reduce roasting time for broccoli and other green vegetables by 5 to 10 minutes).

If sauce has thickened and is no longer consistency of light cream soup, stir in a little more broth (or water). Taste and season with salt, about 1 tsp. Lightly brush both sides of each tortilla with oil. Stack, wrap in damp paper towels, and microwave on high (100%) for 1 minute to warm and soften.

Spread about 1 cup sauce over bottom of 13-by-9-in. baking dish. I got out my  cast iron fajita pans and made individual plates of three enchiladas, this is how it is served in the book. Working quickly, roll equal portion of roasted vegetables into each tortilla while tortillas are still hot and pliable. Place them side by side in baking dish.

Douse evenly with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake until enchiladas are heated through and cheese begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Garnish with onion rings and cilantro sprigs. Serves 4 to 6.

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These were fun to make, I viewed it more of a project recipe, this is not something I'd say to try for a quick weeknight meal, but if you have a few hours of free time in the kitchen to play around with, this was a nice cooking experience.  I made these along side traditional American tacos for the rest of my family since I knew they would not be that interested in trying this.  The kids had a bite of it but did not like it, picky husband was of course a no go since he is not a vegetable fan. It has a neat flavor and everything meshes together really well.  This is like something I'd order at a high end Mexican restaurant.  I made only one serving at a time and just put everything else back in the fridge in individual containers and enjoyed this meal quite a few times over the week (only had to assemble and bake) since I was the only one eating it. If you like veggies and want to try something new (or already love tomatillos or have some adventurous eaters at your table) I would definitely recommend giving this recipe a try! I would make it again for sure, there are so many veggie combinations that sound like they would be delicious in these enchiladas, and it is always more fun to eat off of a fajita skillet :)