Mollie Katzen Online

AVOCADO ENCHILADAS

Adapted from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest
Preparation time: About 10 minutes (make this shortly before filling and baking the enchiladas.)
Yield: about 10 - 12 enchiladas
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An enchilada is a soft corn tortilla wrapped around a filling and baked in a szuce. Usually the filling is quite plain (cheese, chicken, or beef) and bland, and the sauce is the spicier element.

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 medium-sized avocados, perfectly ripe
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
6 scallions, finely minced (whites and greens)
3/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cumin

Place the lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl. Peel and pit the avocados, cut them into small dice, and add them to the lemon juice. Toss lightly.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover tightly and chill. NOTE: to help the guacamole retain its color, add the avocado pits. Remove them just before serving.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE ENCHILADAS: Enchiladas are easy to assemble, once the filling and sauce are prepared and the tortillas are premoistened. The procedure is as follows:

If you are using forzen tortillas, defrost them first – fully wrapped – to prevent their drying out.
Prepare the filling and sauce.
Moisten the tortillas (this encourages flexibility) in one of several ways:
sauté them very briefly on each side in a little oil ("Very briefly" means approximately 10 seconds.)
Dip them briefly in the sauce. ("Briefly" means a dunking, not a bath.)
Dip them just as briefly in water (least desirable, however easiest).
Assemble the enchiladas by placing a few tablespoons of filling on one side of each tortilla and rolling it up. Pour a small amount of sauce into a shallow baking dish, add the enchiladas, and pour the remaining sauce over the top. Cover with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes in a 325 oven. Serve hot.