Adapted from Recipezaar.com
As my friends and family to whom I constantly gush about this meal know, I LOVE Enchiladas Calabaza. I love the combination of the sweet cinnamon with the spicy chili powder. I love the color of the butternut squash mixed with cream cheese. I love it all. Until now, whenever I had an itch for this meal, I had to buy it from my favorite restaurant in town (or politely ask for a free dish on my birthday). Therefore, having a recipe for this is a MAJOR success.
Ingredients*:
1 2-3 pound (large) butternut squash**
1/2 block neufchatel cheese (about 4 oz.), or more to taste, cut into chunks
4 green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 corn tortillas
12 ounces tomato sauce (approx. 1/2 jar)
approx. 1/2 cup spicy salsa
approx. 1 tablespoon hot sauce (more or less to taste)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Optional toppings:
Lettuce sliced into small strips
Diced tomatoes
Plain nonfat yogurt or sour cream
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out stringy parts and squash seeds and discard. Score each half of the butternut squash using a sharp knife. Add approx. 1/4 inch of water to a pyrex baking dish. Place butternut squash in baking dish with inside of squash facing up. Bake butternut squash for approximately 1.5 hours, or until soft. When squash has finished baking, lower temperature of oven to 350 degrees.
2. After butternut squash has cooled enough to touch (or if you are like me, until the risk of burns does not outweigh your impatient urge to start cooking), scoop butternut squash from skins. Discard skins. Place squash in a large bowl.
3. To bowl with squash, add neufchatel cheese in chunks, green onions and all spices and salt. Start by mashing mixture using potato masher. Once the combination is beginning to combine, mix using an electric mixer, until smooth. Taste the squash mixture at this point and if necessary, add more spices, salt, or neufchatel cheese. Note: this mixture can be made earlier in the day or even the day before, refrigerated, and used as the filling when you are ready.
4. Place plain corn tortillas in oven-safe baking dish and place in oven for a few minutes to warm them so that they are pliable. While tortillas are warming, in a separate medium bowl, combine tomato sauce, salsa, and hot sauce to taste. The goal here is to create a "spicy tomato sauce". Stir until blended. If you'd like, add more salsa. Once tortillas are pliable (approximately 3-5 minutes), remove them from the oven but keep the oven on.
5. Assemble enchiladas by placing a heaping soup spoonful (approx. 1/4 cup) in each corn tortilla, rolling, and placing seam-side down in a baking dish. Cover filled tortillas with tomato sauce mixture. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
6. Cover dish with foil and bake until warmed throughout, approximately 30 minutes.
7. Provide lettuce sliced in strips, diced tomatoes, and plain yogurt as optional toppings.
*My friends Heather and Andrea also love Enchiladas Calabaza and made this dish with a few variations. They recommend adding additional chili powder to the squash mix, adding enchilada sauce to the tomato sauce mix, and adding cilantro to the top of the enchiladas after they have finished baking. They also said that next time, they'd try putting some sauce in the bottom of the dish before adding the enchiladas to the dish. Thanks for your tips, Heather and Andrea!
**I haven't tried it but if you're short on time, I'm sure that you could substitute the whole squash with some frozen cubed butternut squash from your grocer's frozen veggie section. I would just spread the squash out on a baking dish and bake it or would boil it in water to cook.
*My friends Heather and Andrea also love Enchiladas Calabaza and made this dish with a few variations. They recommend adding additional chili powder to the squash mix, adding enchilada sauce to the tomato sauce mix, and adding cilantro to the top of the enchiladas after they have finished baking. They also said that next time, they'd try putting some sauce in the bottom of the dish before adding the enchiladas to the dish. Thanks for your tips, Heather and Andrea!
**I haven't tried it but if you're short on time, I'm sure that you could substitute the whole squash with some frozen cubed butternut squash from your grocer's frozen veggie section. I would just spread the squash out on a baking dish and bake it or would boil it in water to cook.
