An Ode to the Chipotle

I am obsessed right now with this ingredient, especially chipotle in abode sauce.

FYI:  This brand was the hottest of the 3 I've tried.  I love heat, but this was extreme....

It all started with the recipe that I will share on enchiladas that I discovered and adapted about a year ago, but since then, I’ve added chopped up chipotles in chili and sprinkled abode sauce in soups. Lots of soups. Right now I’m a little hooked on Butternut Squash soup with adobe sauce swirled in and a great dollop of plain yogurt in the center. Oh. My. Goodness.

But what I think I love about this ingredient the most is the type of heat it gives to a dish. It’s not a burn your lips, smack you in the face kind of hot, like Sriracha, but more of a slow, warm heat in the back of your throat. It lingers too, but in a good way. I just love it.

So here is my favorite way to use chipotle pepper and adobe sauce: homemade enchiladas. I’ve made it for company – success! I’ve made it as a frozen meal to give to someone at our church – success! I’ve made it the night before to quick pop into the oven for 30 minutes at the end of a long day – it’s good for everything. And although it takes a little longer to prepare than say, Tina’s Burritos… it’s so, so worth it.
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First, you will be making essentially 2 different blends and a pound of meat source (or just forget the meat source if you’re so inclined).

1. Enchilada sauce: Process a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes with 1 small onion and 1 fat garlic clove. Add 1-2 chipotle peppers and a splash of the adobe sauce. Process until it’s fairly smooth. ** If you’re a fair weather fan when it comes to spice, don’t be a hero here – go with 1 pepper.

2. Bean Puree: Process 1 can of beans (I’ve used black and Northern…) with a tad of the enchilada sauce (I just don’t rinse the processor beforehand. There’s plenty of leftover sauce still in there). Add about 1 tsp of chili powder and 1 tsp of cumin (or estimate… I don’t really love any of those spices). Add salt and pepper and process until chunky but combined.

3. Brown your meat or cook and shred.


And then it’s time to assemble. Spread ¼ of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13. Using corn or flour tortillas (if you use corn like I do, microwave them, 4 at a time, for about 30 seconds so they are limber), plop some bean mixture and meat into the center and roll up. Place into dish. I usually fit about 12-14 corn tortillas into a pan this size.

 I added spinach instead of meat in this particular installment... it worked.

Then just spread the remaining sauce over all your rolled enchiladas.

To finish, cook at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Want to make it even better? Take out after 25 minutes, add cheese, and bake for 5 more minutes.

Serve with cilantro, sour cream (or plain yogurt!) and avocado.

This is the first time I made this recipe - so I splurged with the cheese and cilantro.  I used black beans and ground turkey for this one.

Let me know what you think. I promise it’ll be a hit!