Yam Enchiladas with a mango-avocado salsa cruda and watermelon margaritas...

This month's daring kitchen challenge was presented by Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food to make Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas. I love Mexican food but dislike enchiladas. I find them way too cheesy. So this was a great opportunity for me to make enchiladas - my style! Now I really was not in the mood for chicken or any meat of sorts... wanted to have more veggies...then decided whats better than one of my favorite vegetables -- yams! They're used heavily in South-American cuisine, maybe not so much in Mexican food, but a great substitute nonetheless.
So my final menu was - Yam enchiladas (made with blue corn tortillas) with a mango and avocado salsa cruda served with ... wait for it... watermelon margaritas! If this doesn't cry out summer to you... I don't know what will :)

First and foremost; any good enchilada sauce will include roasting and two main ingredients - anaheim peppers and tomatillos. If you don't have access to anaheim peppers, substitute with poblano or jalapeno (remember that they have different heat levels). The taste will be slightly different. Using thai chillies or green bell peppers (capsicum) is not an option. If you don't have tomatillos, use green tomatoes and add tamarind sauce. I've not fried the tortillas or added much fat to the entire menu. This is a very healthy recipe, includes lots of vegetables AND fruits. Just because its healthy doesn't mean it has any diminished flavors.
The below recipe serves 3.
Total time taken -- depends on when you start the margarita rounds :)

Yam Filling

• 2 Yams medium
• 2 cups Vegetable stock
• 2 tsp oregano
• 3 dried poblano/ancho chile peppers
• Salt to taste

Chop the yam into about 1" pieces. I keep the skins, as this is where a lot of nutrients are. Boil this along with the vegetable stock, oregano, dried poblano peppers and a sprinkling of salt. Let it boil for about 30-35 minutes on medium heat. Extract the yams from the boiling stock and spices. Mash it and keep aside. Do not throw the stock at this point. You will reuse it for the sauce.

Enchilada Sauce
Roasting Vegetables

• 3 pods of garlic
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 -3 anaheim peppers
• 5-6 tomatillos

Other ingredients

• Yam Stock - 1 1/2 cups

First preheat your oven to 420, cut the vegetables in large chunks and keep ready. Roast the vegetables for 30-40 mins depending on your oven. Blend all the roasted vegetables. Add the blended puree to 1 1/2 cups of yam stock. Let it boil for about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt/spices. Boil for another 5 minutes. Its now ready!

Blue Corn Tortillas

• 1 cup blue cornmeal(use masa harina)
• 1/4 cup white flour AP
• 1/2 cup +4 tbsp hot water

Add 1 cup of blue cornmeal and 1/4 cup of white flour to a large bowl, add 1/2 cup + 4 tbsp of hot water. Mix it up a bit. Let it sit for about 30 minutes at least. Keep your tortilla press/maker ready. Take a small ball of the dough, press and toast it for about 20-30 secs. Remove and its ready to eat. Well at least this is how it SHOULD have worked. But since I used Blue cornmeal instead of blue corn masa harina, the dough was not forming into a nice lump and I added the white flour to get more gluten to form the dough. Even then the tortilla making was quite difficult. Some even ripped apart, like the one in the picture. Note for next time --- use MASA HARINA. Cornmeal is not a good substitute.

Mango and Avocado Salsa Cruda

• 1 very ripe mango
• 1 ripe avocado
• Handful of pepitas
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Cilantro 2 tbsps

Dice the mango and avocado. Add the lemon juice immediately. Add cilantro. Add pepitas. Let it marinate in the fridge till serving. All this depends on the ripeness and the juiciness of the mango. If it isn't as sweet as you'd like it to be, add sugar, if its too sour, add less lemon. You get the picture :)

Watermelon Margaritas

• Watermelon puree - 3 full cups or 5 cups cubed watermelon pieces
• Cabo Wabo Tequila - 1/2 cup 
• Grand Marnier - 2 tbsp
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Salt rimmed glasses - 4 

Blend the watermelon cubes and create a smooth thick puree/juice to the consistency you like. Add the good stuff and freeze for about 2 hours. Keep margarita glasses in the fridge. Pour and drink whenever you feel like it :)

 Assembling the Enchiladas

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Take tortillas, add yam filling, roll it up. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
3. Add Enchilada sauce
4. Add about 1/2 cup of cheese on top of the entire row of tortillas.If you'd like more cheese feel free. I just dislike too much cheese. In fact the yam filling was so delicious and smooth. Personally the next time I might just skip the cheese altogether.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or till cheese is bubbling.
6. Serve with the mango avocado salsa cruda and the margaritas.

Enjoy ....