Recipe: Classic Guatemala Enchiladas

You’ve probably heard of enchiladas before, but you might be thinking about a rolled tortilla filled with chicken, or beef, topped with melted cheese and sauce, which is more like a Mexican enchilada. These enchiladas -Guatemalan enchiladas- are made by topping a fried or toasted tortilla (called a Tostada) with lettuce, beets, onions, tomato sauce, fresh parsley, an egg slice…and the last touch, a sprinkling of dried Guatemalan cheese (Queso Seco). Parmesan cheese can also work. Sometimes people also add ground beef or chili spice.

Buen Proveche!

• For more nice Guatemalan recipies, please visit www.crossroadscommunityfoodnetwork.org

Ingredients for 25 Enchiladas:

• 25 tostadas
• 2-3 lbs fresh lettuce
• 6-8 red beets
• 6 boiled eggs
• 4 dill pickles (optional)
• 2 sliced onions (optional)
• 1 large bunch of fresh parsley
• pepper, salt
• Queso Seco (dry cheese)
• Sauce: 3 diced onions 5 diced tomatoes

Procedure:

• Some of the steps need to be made a day ahead, once these ingredients are ready you can start assembling the Enchilada.  Those ingredients are the filling, the onion escabeche, vegetable mix and tomato sauce.  The recipe calls for 1 head of garlic, which you will use in the filling recipe, in the vegetable mix recipe and the tomato sauce recipe. Feel free to adjust the garlic amount to your own personal taste.

Filling:

• Chop one of the red bell peppers, with half of the green beans, half of the carrots, half of the chayotes, half of the garlic head (or your adjusted amount of garlic), and half of the cabbage. No onions, beets, celery or tomatoes here.
• Add a bit of oil to a large hot pan, and brown your beef.
• Season with salt and pepper and add all the chopped vegetables.
• Let it cook until all the liquid has evaporated.

Onion “Escabeche”

• Cut onions into quarters, and then slice and separate the pieces.
• Mix olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
• Add onion rings and let them sit for at least 24 hrs in a covered jar.

Vegetable Mix:

• Julienne or chop the rest of the vegetables you had left over. You’ll use the remaining carrots, chayotes, garlic (to taste), and cabbage this time you’ll include the beets.
• Cook them in boiling water, with the 2 bay leaves, except for the beets.  Those are cooked in a separate pot.  Don’t over cook them, it should only take a few minutes.
• Mix the vegetables, and let them cool.
• Refrigerate and mix with the onion escabeche.
• Let this mixture rest for at least half a day.

Tomato Sauce:

• Cook the tomatoes, celery stalks and remaining red bell pepper and garlic (to taste).
• Pure in the blender, return to the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste

Assembly:

• Take a tostada, cover with a lettuce leaf.
• Top the lettuce with the vegetable and escabeche mix.
• Top this with the beef filling.
• Next, top with tomato sauce.
• Decorate with a few sliced hard boiled egg, sprinkle with dried cheese, and chopped cilantro.

Ready In: 0 min.