Vrghr created these for a friend who couldn’t decide between doing something “Mexican” and having seafood, when wuff offered to make them supper while visiting. So, wuffy created this Mexican Seafood combo. To round things out, wuffy paired these with some robustly flavored refried beans and Vrghr’s “kicked up” Mexican rice.

Wuff is only providing the seafood and sauce part below. But if enough folks want to know how Vrghr created the beans and rice, wuff will happily add those recipes in another post. They’re absolutely NOT a traditional Mexican style, but they were certainly tasty!

The Enchiladas were stuffed with a combination of Shrimp and Crab, mixed with cheese, black beans, tomatoes, and peppers, and then kicked up with various spices. Definitely hearty and filling! Then wuff covered them with a rich, creamy sauce focusing on Poblano and Hatch green chilli flavors.

Vrghr intentionally keep the heat levels pretty low on these, as the friend wuffy was cooking for was “Capsicum-adverse”. But it would be simple to heat things up if you wanted. Just add more Fresno (or Jalapeno) peppers to the filling or sauce, or tuck a bit of Cayenne pepper into the mix. Wuff would heat up the cream sauce more than the stuffing though. Easier for guests to scrape a bit of that off if they want a milder flavor.

Wuff toasted the Tortillas a little before wrapping things up. Vrghr thinks that improves the flavors and the texture, but it isn’t essential. If you want to skip that step, go ahead; it’ll make the assembly process a bit quicker.

NOTE: Don’t use Queso Fresco cheese for the sauce, even though that seems more “Mexican” style. This cheese crumbles nicely, but doesn’t melt very well. It would make a nice garnish if you want to use it that way.

Ingredients:
For the Enchiladas
1 lb Peeled Deveined frozen Shrimp (Medium Count)
12 oz canned Crab Meat
2 Medium Tomatoes, Diced
½ Medium Yellow Onion, Diced
1 can Black Beans, Rinsed and Drained
1 Red Fresno (or Jalapeno) Pepper, seeds removed, minced
3 roasted red peppers (from a jar), diced
3 oz Black Olives, sliced or chopped
8 oz Shredded Mexican Cheese
2 T Powdered Dried Shrimp
1 T Minced Garlic
2 tsp Ancho Chilli Powder
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 Lemon
2 T Butter

8 large flour tortillas
Cooking Oil (Avocado?)
1lb Mexican Grated Cheese

2 oz Black Olives, sliced (for garnish)

For the Poblano Hatch Chilli Cream Sauce
1 Poblano Chilli, Diced
1 Red Fresno (or Jalapeno) Chilli, seeds removed, minced
2 T Minced Garlic
½ C White Wine
2 C Chicken Broth/Stock
1 C Mexican Crema (Sour Cream)
8 oz Havarti Cheese, shredded
2 tsp Ground Cumin
2 tsp Ancho Chilli
2 tsp Chilli Powder
3 T Butter
3 T all-purpose Flour
8 oz 505 Hatch Valley Green Chilli salsa

Directions:
Make the Enchilada “Stuffing”
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter until it foams. Add the onion, minced garlic, and minced Fresno (Jalapeno) Pepper. Cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes).

Add the roasted diced red peppers, drained black beans, and shrimp. Stir together and cook until the
shrimp are starting to turn pink but not done.

Add the Crab, dried shrimp powder, and all the spices. Stir in the shredded cheese and allow to cook, stirring, until the cheese begins to melt. Don’t cook too long, because you don’t want to dry out and make the shrimp tough.

Squeeze in the juice from the lemon to brighten the mix. Stir in the Black Olives and diced Tomatoes to combine.

Reduce heat to lowest setting to keep warm (makes spreading/filling the Tortillas easier).

Make the Poblano Hatch Sauce
In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the diced Poblano and Fresno (Jalapeno) chillis, and the minced Garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes fragrant (about a minute). Add the white wine and continue to cook for another minute.

Stir in the flour and spices and cook, stirring, for a minute or two to reduce the “raw” flour flavor and “bloom” the spice flavors a bit. Don’t let the Rue color though! We want a white sauce!

Add the chicken stock and shredded Havarti cheese. Stir and simmer until the cheese is melting.
Add the 505 Hatch Green Chili sauce and stir in. Allow to simmer gently for about 5 minutes for the chillis to infuse the broth with their flavor.

Stir in the Mexican Crema (Sour Cream) until it melts and combines. Reduce heat to keep sauce warm for spreading.

Assemble and Bake
Preheat the oven to about 350-375 degrees.
Spray a low sided, 11X7 or 12X8 style casserole dish with non-stick spray.

In a small/medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat a tablespoon or so of high-smoke temp oil until shimmering.

Add a flour tortilla and fry for a few seconds (about 10-15) until small brown areas appear. Flip the tortilla over, and cook the same amount of time on the other side. If needed, add a bit more oil for the next tortilla
(I found that it takes just about the same amount of time to fill and roll up an Enchilada as it does to toast a tortilla on both sides, if that helps your “assembly line”)

Remove the tortilla to a plate. Add about 2/3 - 3/4 C of the seafood “stuffing” to one side and roll the tortilla into a cylinder. Place in the casserole dish. Repeat for the remaining 7 Enchiladas.

Pour all but about 2/3 C of the Cream Sauce over the Enchiladas, making sure everything gets covered.

Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Take the Casserole out, remove the foil and set the oven to Broil.

Spread the 1 lb of grated cheese over the Enchiladas. Return to oven and Broil for Approximately 10-15 minutes, until the top is golden and cheese melted.

Remove and allow to cool for about 15 minutes to “set up” the fillings a bit.

Plate
Place an Enchilada on the middle of the plate. Drizzle a bit of the reserved Cream Sauce over the top.

Garnish with sliced olives, avocados, a sprinkle of grated cheese, and/or diced tomatoes.

Pair with desired sides (Mexican Rice, Beans, Green leafy salad, etc.) Offer some light and zippy Picco De Gallo for a bright finish.

!DEVOUR!