Chicken and Spinach Enchilada Recipe | Lemons + Anchovies (2024)

Take me to a Mexican restaurant and 90% of the time, I will order enchiladas. Ground beef or carnitas are my fillings of choice. At home, I use a ground turkey filling seasoned with cumin and chili powder, always. This alone should disqualify me from being classified as a foodie–with certain foods, I am most definitely a creature of habit.

For a change, I embraced spontaneity this week. My refrigerator is bursting with extra ingredients from this past weekend’s brunch and I had a strong craving for Mexican food. Instead of my usual ground turkey, I made a filling out of leftover roast chicken, spinach, mushrooms and Anaheim peppers. I sautéed them quickly and seasoned the mixture with ground cumin and chili powder. A sampling of my filling proved promising.

To finish the dish, I made my own corn tortillas (recipe here) hoping that this would offset the fact that I still use store-bought enchilada sauce. I know. I have found a few prospects though–who knew there were so many variations? I even found one that uses cocoa powder (not a molé sauce)–intriguing, but next time.What I was inspired to make instead was a condiment to help brighten the flavors of the enchiladas. The darling author of The Baking Barristerarrived for brunch last weekend with a precious gift in the form of three gorgeous avocados, perfect for my Mexican-themed meal. I’ve been wanting to expand my avocado horizons by making a dressing or a sauce showcasing their smooth, buttery flavor. The enchiladas would be an appropriate backdrop, I thought.Ultimately, I made a sauce fashioned out of some traditional guacamole ingredients, puréeing the avocados with lime juice, cilantro, sour cream and salt. It was simple but it did the trick. Just a dollop added a welcome flash of freshness to the baked enchiladas. And the enchiladas themselves? Loved them! The sauce-drenched tortillas were fall-apart soft after baking in the oven, the boldness of the red sauce offering a balance against the delicate quality of the spinach and mushrooms. In fact, this combination is forcing me to rethink my old ideas about my standby recipe; I may eliminate the meat altogether next time. And finally, I even used marinated buffalo mozzarella in the filling with good results. I may have just found my new go-to enchilada.Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas with Avocado-Lime Sauce* Note: the filling will be enough for about a 10 – 12 enchiladas (or more if you use small tortillas like I did)

• 2 cups chicken, diced (I used leftover rotisserie chicken)
• 4 cups tightly packed spinach (5 ounces)
• 1 – 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 Anaheim chile, chopped
• Olive Oil for sautéing
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 scant teaspoon ground cumin
• Enchilada sauce (Use homemade if you have it. I used a 28 oz can store-bought)
• Corn tortillas (I used a dozen 6-inch pieces)
• About 2 cups cheese (I used a combination of shredded cheddar/jack and fresh marinated mozzarella)
• Garnish: Sour cream, avocado sauce, cilantro, radishes, chopped onions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

2. Heat up your enchilada sauce in a saucepan.

3. To prepare the filling, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large sauté pan over med-high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and sauté for about three minutes. Season with salt, to taste. Add the Anaheim chile then the diced chicken. Add the chili powder and ground cumin. Just cook long enough to heat the chicken through. Then add the spinach. It will take a minute or two for them to wilt. You don’t want to overcook this. The goal is to blend the flavors and eliminate the raw crunch of the vegetables and to wilt the spinach.

4. To assemble: Ladle a thin layer of sauce on a casserole dish. Dip the tortillas in the warm enchilada sauce and spoon on some filling and a bit of cheese. Be careful not to overfill or the tortillas will be difficult to roll. It is also best to lay the tortillas on the casserole dish you plan to use when you fill them. Arrange the each rolled enchilada and repeat until the dish is full. Ladle more sauce on the enchiladas, as much or as little as you like. Then top with more cheese.

5. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is a light golden brown.

6. Garnish with your favorite toppings.

Avocado-Lime Sauce