April 6, 2010

I grew up in the United States, on the West Coast, which of course means I grew up eating tons of Mexican food. Or rather, I grew up eating "Tex-Mex", the delicious combination of rice, beans, tortillas, tomatoes, avocados, and meat that Americans like to pass off as "ethnic" food. And you'll get no apologies from me for that, because I love it. It's one of the things I miss most living in Canada - the serious lack of Mexican food up here.

I was inspired recently by Serious Eats' Eggplant-Almond Enchilada recipe. I love enchiladas, but a vegetarian alternative can be difficult to find, other than just bean and cheese, which is rather boring.

I also thought this other recipe for Mint-Chili Grilled Artichokes looked like it would compliment the enchiladas well. To beef up the "Mexican" theme, I threw on some box-Spanish-rice, and some canned refried beans, garnished with avocado, and we had a proper "Tex-Mex" feast, complete with WAY too much food!



Before I get to my review of the recipes, I have to mention our appetizer/drink of the evening. Garreth, a frequent diner, lived in Spain for awhile and brought over fixings for Calimocho, a mix of red wine and coke that's like the Basque version of iced tea or sangria. Let me tell you now, I am planning for this to be my drink of choice for the summer. It is positively delicious, and will be so perfect with some frozen citrus slices on a hot summer day.

Now, onto the reviews. The enchiladas were FANTASTIC. They were quite healthy and filling, if they weren't so damn tasty I gorged myself on them! They did take a significant amount of prep time. Making homemade enchilada sauce is not for the pressed-for-time. It takes about an hour or so, but it is well worth the effort. And the eggplant mix was a good substitute for meat, since it had a similar texture. I will definitely be making these again.

The artichokes, unfortunately, didn't turn out. Their flavour was fantastic, spicy and minty, all around good. But the recipe didn't really specify if it was intended for the artichokes whole or hearts. I think grilling up the hearts in the spices, and adding the mint and chilis a bit earlier would make for a better result. In the end they were too tough to eat, and not quite flavourful enough.