Pure Hunger

I recently published a crab salad recipe and promised enchiladas soon to follow that would use the salad as the primary filling. I try to keep my promises and I was also selfishly motivated by how incredible this recipe sounded. It took a crisp, cool, light crab salad and promised to smother it with cheese and cream in between layers of salty tortilla. How could I say no? I’m really not sure you can even wait long enough to finish reading this post before diving in. Not only was this one of the best dishes I have made, the process of creating the dish was relaxing, exciting and fulfilling. I was cooking out of my new seasonal cookbook, baking in a brand new casserole dish and the layering made it all feel like an artistic endeavor.

Ingredients

Adapted from Pure Flavor by KurtDammeier

10 6-inch corn tortillas
17 oz jar salsa verde*
17 1/2 oz container creme fraiche*
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups fresh spinach leaves
Easiest Crab Salad
8 oz semihard cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

*I used half the verde and creme fraiche and found the dish wonderful

Needless to say, I was in cooking bliss. I love learning new recipes and my new cookbook has been getting me even more excited to share recipes with you. I was falling into a brief cooking funk where BLT and spaghetti were regulars on our dinner menu. This book has kicked my adventurous spirit back in high gear and the new baking dish I purchased features these carefully made creations with such style.

It is also a blessing when you can make a dish in the morning, taking all the time in the world to cut vegetables, grate cheese and layer with precision. The original recipe does not call for spinach but we had spinach fresh from the garden and I couldn’t resist add extra vegetables. I cooked the dish in the morning, let it refrigerate because we had softball to play that night and when we got home, it was quickly heated and devoured. So take a deep breath, jump in and use this recipe to bring you back to the kitchen and leave with crab, cheese and cream in your belly.

Turn broiler in oven on high. Place four corn tortillas on lightly oiled baking sheet. Using broiler, toast tortillas under flame until they are partially crisp and edges are just blackened, about 30 seconds per side.

In small bowl, combine salsa verde and creme fraiche to make a creamy sauce. Set aside.

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the an 8-inch baking dish (make sure it’s about 3-4 inches deep). Trim 3-4 tortillas to fit the contours of the baking dish and make one complete layer of tortilla over the bottom of the dish.

On top of the tortillas, layer one-third of the crab salad, one-third of the cheese, one third of the spinach leaves and one third of the sauce.

Repeat the layers, starting with the tortillas, another two times. As a side note, I went through the layers twice instead of three times, as my dish was not deep enough and I wanted the filling to be plump. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are brown and bubbly and he casserole is hot throughout. Let rest for five minutes before serving. Once baked, enchiladas can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.