Tuesday, April 10, 2012

TwoFaced: Olives


"TwoFaced Tuesdays" is a joint venture between CupcakesOMG! and Jenna from The Paleo Project. Each week, we select one secret ingredient and put our own paleo spin on it. You can catch up on the entire series here. Also, if you have any special ingredient requests, you can always tweet us (@CupcakesOhMG and @ThePaleoProject) using the hashtag #TwoFacedTuesday.
100% of the time I go home to visit my parents in Houston, we eat Mexican food 80% of  the time. I will order enchiladas 100% of those times, which means that 1,500% of the time Mexican food outside of the state of Texas is horseshit. Math, y'all!!

And yes, that does include Mexico. and no, I don't speak from experience. Details like those are irrelevant!

More on things that are relevant--enchiladas. I gave up trying to find a decent Mexican restaurant in D.C. long ago, after ordering too many bowls of queso made with Velveeta and Rotel (NOT queso) and enchiladas devoid of an adequate amount of cheese. Now, I'll only step foot in a Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic "Mexican" restaurant to order a margarita, so I can literally drown my Mexican-food-longing sorrows in tequila. Fun fact: Tequila is considered one of the most "Paleo" of liquors.
Clearly, I was suffering some Pavlovian response to the idea of going home next week, which I assume is why I couldn't stop craving enchiladas this weekend. And because there was no restaurant where I'd get anything even half as good as the real thing, I figured it was the perfect occasion to experiment with my new Paleo enchilada recipe.
For the record, I'm aware cheese isn't considered "Paleo" in many circles, but dammit if I would make the same mistake as all the Yanks up here and leave it out for the sake of being true Paleo. 
I am also aware that sour cream isn't true Paleo either, but screw you man!!!! It's delicious with the coconut flour torillas and ground beef and olive filling (there's the TwoFaced ingredient you were waiting for!).
This was an absolutely fantastic paleo swap for the real thing, and a far better option to anything I've been served in a Mexican restaurant north of the TexArkana border.
For more olive-y goodness, you have to check out what Jenna whipped up at The Paleo Project!!

Paleo Beef Enchiladas
Makes about 8 servings
For the tortillas (makes about 12 tortillas)
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup egg whites
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp. water (more if mixture seems too thick)
  • coconut oil
For the meat
  • 1 can (28 oz) Red Enchilada sauce--check the labels and pick something sugar free
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds grass-fed ground beed
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
  • 1 can diced green chiles
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3-4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 can large black olives, chopped
  • green onions, chopped
  • cilantro, chopped
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. While oven preheats, make the tortillas by whisking together all the ingredients until batter is slightly thin (add more water if it's too thick).

3. Heat a tsp. of coconut oil in non-stick pan over medium heat. Once oil has melted, add about 2-3 Tbsp. of batter, swirling around in pan as you pour to get a thin tortilla. Brown on first side for about 2 minutes, or until the tortilla can easily be flipped over. Flip and brown on other side. Remove to cool on a cooling rack or plate and finish cooking remaining tortillas. Set aside.

4. Make the enchilada sauce by bringing red sauce, chicken broth, salt and pepper to a boil. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer for about 30 minutes.

5. While the sauce simmers, brown the beef in a skillet with the onions. Drain off some of the excess fat then add the green chiles and salt. 

6. To assemble the enchiladas, ladle about 1/2 cup of red sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish, spreading out evenly.

7. Spoon meat, cheese, olives, and green onions into each tortilla. Roll tortilla up and place seam down in the dish. Repeat until pan is full (it's okay for the enchiladas to be in tight together). Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Cover with a thick layer of cheese and bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with green onion and cilantro before serving. Serve with sliced avocado and sour cream.  

14 comments:

Jenna | The Eighty Twenty said...

Seriously! I honestly have never been to Texas, but from what James and his family said about their trip last year, the mexican food was ridic. I want to try making those tortillas. Were they easy to make?

Maggie @ A Bitchin' Kitchen said...

Have you tried Guapo's in Shirlington? It's the only Mexican restaurant that my Dallas-raised friend will bother with up here. She says it's no substitute for Mexican food from where she grew up, but that it's good for this area.

I like it too, but I'm told that my opinion is irrelevant since I'm not a Texan.

Danielle said...

Paleo(ish) mexican food that isn't taco salad?! Um thank you! Texas girl here (Dallas) and i really do miss my mexican food since going strict paleo! I will definitely give these a try!!

whitney said...

so when i tried paleo for a hot sec. i tried to make tortillas.

fuck that man.

i tossed everything in the trash and went to mcdonalds.

so for that. i praise you.

Venus said...

I think this is what's for dinner tonight!

April said...

I tried to make these tortillas. First of all they needed about another cup of water to get to a spreadable consistency. Secondly, they would not come out of the pan! I do not have non-stick so I used more oil. Still - a mess! Should they be cooked at super low heat instead of pancake type heat?

CupcakesOMG! said...

@April hm, well every oven/stove is different, so i'm not entirely sure what happened. like the directions suggest, you might need to add water if it's too thick--weather can impact this--so im not surprised to hear that. i think you're not having as much luck with the tortillas because of your pan. i used a small non stick pan that i bought for about $15 and it worked perfectly over medium heat. my suggestion would be to start with getting the right kind of pan and that would have a tremendous impact on your results.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I am in the process of making these. I'm having problems with the tortillas. I added an extra cup to cup and a half of water extra to get a slightly thin consistency, like the recipe suggests it should be. I am not able to 'swirl' the batter in the pan. On medium heat, it immediately wants to stick. I do have a non stick pan. I have turned the heat down to low. They don't look like tortillas, they look like pancakes, which is fine. Everything else smells great. I don't yet know how the tortillas will hold up in the rolling process. I will post an update when it's all done. Hope they taste as good as they smell :)

CupcakesOMG! said...

@Anonymous i'm sorry you're having tortilla troubles! im not sure if you are, but make sure you don't touch the tortilla AT ALL for about two minutes...you have to make sure it has adequate time to cook before you try to flip it. also, make sure you have enough coconut oil in the pan. I suggested a tsp, but it's possible your pan might need more depending on size/wear/etc. try that and see how it helps!

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thank you for the quick reply :) We just finished eating and I must say, being Hispanic and on paleo, I miss my
Mexican food! But this hits that spot! Despite the tortilla problems, it worked out just fine.
I wasn't touching the tortilla till it was flipable, but it was still more like a pancake than a tortilla. That was the only reason that I wasn't able to roll them into enchiladas and instead I layered the ingredients so that it made a casserole.
Despite that, I was very happy with this meal and will make it again. :) I'll keep working on getting the tortillas to be rollable, but if I can't, I know they work fine as an enchilada casserole.
Thank you again!
Candice

Kalin said...

This looks awesome, but as a SoCal native who has had Mexican food throughout the southwest- I gotta tell you, California has the best, most authentic Mexican food.

Anonymous said...

MMMM so excited to try these! But since I live in New Mexico I gotta add real chiles!! Thanks for the recipe!

Jennifer said...

I'm making these tonight! We were stationed just outside of Texas for a few years and I fell in love with enchiladas. I have not been able to find a suitable enchilada in the rest of our moves (Colorado, California, and Northern VA). My poor husband even drove to New Mexico when I was pregnant and craving enchiladas only to find out that they were no where near as good as enchiladas in TX. We have seriously considered moving to TX just for the food, lol :-)

Lori / Adventures of a Sick Chick said...

These look so delicious! I'm currently putting together a round-up post of Paleo Cinco De Mayo recipes on my blog and I'd love to share your recipe. I hope you don't mind if I include a link to your recipe, along with a photo that is clearly credited and linked back to this page. (I will not reprint any part of your actual recipe.) If you have any objections, of course, please let me know! Thanks in advance! :)

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