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Turkey Enchiladas
Shown on ABC's NH Chronicle Nov 25,2005This is a three for one deal. I wanted one basic recipe that Chronicle viewers could vary according to their family and personal tastes. So I started with a basic white sauce (also known as a béchamel sauce) and added equal quantities to three bowls each containing roughly 2 cups of diced turkey. One was turned into a fancy Turkey and Asparagus Crêpes dish, the second was Turkey Enchiladas with soft flour tortillas (see below). The third recipe was an Italian Turkey theme with tri color pasta and Italian style vegetables.
So use these three dishes as inspiration to come up with different fillings according to what your family will eat and what leftovers you have available. They also make great dinner dishes using chicken, pork, ham or salmon or shrimp. The crêpes recipe would be ideal for a Sunday brunch or part of a dinner with friends. All would be good for a potluck since they can be prepared in advance.
Use these sauce ideas to fill giant shells, layer in a lasagna, jazz up real or packet macaroni and cheese, put in a pie plate with pie crust or puff pastry topping and bake, top with hash brown mix and bake, even top a bought pizza crust with sauce and meat mix.
This Turkey Enchilada recipe is based on a friend's recipe that filled flour tortillas with a brick of cream cheese and topped tortillas with a can of condensed chicken soup. Kids love it, if my 19-year-old son is anything to go by.
Ingredients
- ¼ c butter, margarine or oil. (I tend to use olive oil to make my white sauce now, since it is healthier.)
- ¼ c flour
- 1 c whole milk or half and half -you could use 1% for every day but the sauce will not have as much flavor
- 1 c chicken or turkey stock
- salt and pepper
- 2 c leftover cooked diced turkey - dark meat is great here.
- About 1 tbsp diced mild green chilis from a can - optional
- Half a can of sliced baby sweet corn or 11 oz can Green Giant corn, drained.
- 1 tbsp ground cumin - this is a mild spice with no heat, but it's the spice you recognize in Mexican dishes. I buy it from Asian grocery stores where it's far cheaper.
- 1 packet of soft taco size flour tortillas.
- 2 c packet of Mexican cheese blend
- 1 c sour cream - lite is fine - optional
Method
1. Melt butter or oil in non-stick sauce pan. Stir in flour until smooth and cook over gentle heat for about 2 minutes. This cooks the flour and prevents the grainy, raw flour taste.2. Slowly stir in milk and stock, bring to a boil and cook over gentle heat for about 3 minutes until sauce thickens.
3. Add turkey, chilis, cumin, sweet corn and 1 cup of Mexican cheese blend. Stir well and adjust seasonings to taste. Add more cumin if you want, add some salsa.
4. If sauce is too thick add some more milk or stock. I find that a thick sauce is not so pleasant to eat. But it needs to be thick enough that it will not run out of tortillas.
5. When I want a certain quantity of filled tortillas, I like to spread out all tortillas (pretty side down) on the counter and then evenly divide the filling amongst them so that the last tortillas has the same amount of filling as the first tortillas. Another trick is to layer tortillas with filling l ike a layer cake and then cut tower of tortillas into wedges for serving. Then it doesn't matter if one layer has more filling than another since it will even out by cutting tower into wedges through all the different layers.
6. Roll up the tortillas and place them in a greased dish - something like a lasagna pan will work. If you want to serve them at the table make sure it is a decorative dish. Sprinkle top of tortillas with second cup of Mexican cheese blend or mix cheese with sour cream and spread on top of tortillas.
7. Cover and heat in preheated 350° oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling, remove from oven. Serve with Mexican salad.
Options
Add cooked or roasted red or green pepper. Top with Salsa and cheese.
Oonagh Williams, proprietor of Royal Temptations, has a Culinary Arts degree, offers Catering services, teaches a variety of classes in International Cooking, makes regular appearances on WMUR ABC Channel 9's Cooks' Corner and has her own series on Merrimack TV. You can contact Oonagh at 603-424-6412.