The Good Life

The other day I made these carrot sofrito enchiladas when my mom came over for dinner and some conversation.  They were pretty good if I do say so myself.  I based my dish on a recipe from Food and Wine magazine you can find here.  My mom liked it enough to ask for the recipe, and I decided to post it here because even though part of my mom’s life has changed and become about white blood cell counts and good veins and wigs and lethargy, mostly it seems like it's still about dinners and family and work and Skyping with the grandkids and the NBA Finals.  Same as it ever was.  Anyway here’s the recipe for you mom, and whoever else wants some.  You know you can’t pass up the endorsement from the woman with the compromised palate.

 I stole the photo from thekitchn.com since I didn't take my own photo.

Here's the link to that post.

CARROT SOFRITO

1 1/4 pounds carrots, coarsely chopped

1 sweet onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, peeled, coarsely chopped

2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

So, take the chopped onions, carrots and garlic and run them in your food processor for a while.  You want the carrots to get to a texture finer than a mince. 

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.

Heat about half the olive oil in a large skillet or other heavy bottomed oven safe receptacle and scrape the carrot mixture into the skillet.  Cook it up for like seven or eight minutes stirring occasionally.  Meanwhile chop up the tomatoes and puree them in the food processor, then add that to the softened carrot mixture and continue cooking for another five minutes. 

Pour the rest of the oil over the sofrito and throw it in the oven.  Cook for an hour and a half or two hours, at 225 you could go as long as you want really, give it a stir now and then if you feel so inclined.

ENCHILADAS

About 2 cups of crumbled cheese (I used what I had in the fridge, some feta, some cotija, the recipe called for queso fresco)

1 cup finely chopped cilantro

3/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Canola oil, for warming

12 corn tortillas

Salsa (I made a chipotle tomatillo salsa, but I think any kind you want would be just fine.)

Mexican yogurt sauce (My own invention, mix some cumin (lots), oregano, cayenne, salt, pepper and lemon juice into about half a cup of yogurt.)  Alternatively you could just use some sour cream or crema.

Mix up the cheese, cilantro and red onion.

Pull the sofrito from the oven.

Warm up your tortillas.

Put a couple spoonfuls of the cheese mixture (1/4 cup at most) in one tortilla, roll it up and put it in a baking dish (9x13).  Repeat with all 12 tortillas.  Top the rolled tortillas with the sofrito, some salsa and any of the cheese mixture that remains. 

At this point you could serve the enchiladas, or you could do like I did and stick ‘em back in the oven while you get the table set or a side salad ready or whatever.  

Serve the enchiladas with the yogurt sauce/sour cream/crema and more salsa, maybe some limes and/or fresh cilantro.

Enjoy.