Roasted Turkey and Butternut Squash Enchiladas with Blistered Green Enchilada Sauce

Roasted Turkey and Butternut Squash Enchiladas with Blistered Green Enchilada Sauce
aka What to do with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, part 2

What you will need:

• 1 pound (about 8 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed 
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 small white onion, sliced ½ inch thick
• 1 or 2 fresh serrano chiles or 1 fresh jalapeno.
• 1 poblano chile
• 2 Tbs olive/coconut/vegetable oil
• 2 C chicken brother
• 1/2 C plain yogurt (or mexican crema)
• 2 C butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive/vegetable/coconut oil 
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder 
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 2 Tbs fresh sage, chopped 
• Roasted butternut squash from step 3
• 1 3/4 cup blistered enchilada sauce from step 3.
• Chopped poblano from step 3.
• 2 C shredded turkey 
• 1/2 C pomegranate seeds 
• 5 oz sharp cheddar cheese (or monteray jack or pepper jack), shredded, plus more for serving
• Garnishes of your choice (chopped cabbage, sliced jalapenos, olives, crema, cheese, white onion (sliced into rings or chopped fine), and or cilantro leaves)

Step One - Prep the vegetables for the sauce (Thank you, Rick Bayless)
Turn on your broiler, adjust a rack so it is 4 - 6 inches below the broiler.  Put the following vegetables on an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet.  Toss them with oil.  Put them in the oven and flip them every few minutes until blistered and spotted black.  Pull out vegetables and lower oven to 400 degrees. Be sure to follow the notes below concerning the vegetables.

• 1 pound (about 8 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed 
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled (note: these will come out after about two minutes)
• 1small white onion, sliced ½ inch thick (note: these will come out shortly after the garlic cloves)
• 1 or 2 fresh serrano chiles or 1 fresh jalapeno.
• 1 poblano chile (should be last to come out, should be completely black, but just barely)

Step Two - Prepare Sauce

Put the poblano in a bowl and cover, or wrap in a clean dish towel and set aside.  When the other vegetables have cooled down enough to handle, slip the skins off the garlic and pull the stem off the other chiles. In a blender, combine the tomatillos (and any juice on the baking sheet), garlic, chiles (not the poblano), onion and a scant teaspoon salt, and blend everything to a coarse puree.

You will need the following:

• 2 Tbs oil
• 2 cups chicken brother
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (or mexican crema, you can use sour cream, but it overpowers the flavor, so I would not recommend it)

In a large (10-inch) skillet over medium-high heat measure the oil or lard. When it’s hot, add the roasted tomatillo sauce base. Let the sauce reduce and concentrate, stirring it frequently, for about 4 minutes. When the sauce darkens and is thicker than spaghetti sauce, stir in chicken broth and yogurt/cream.  Turn heat to medium low and allow it to simmer for 30 minutes, partially covered.

Step Three - While blistered sauce simmers, prep vegetables for enchilada filling

Peel and cube two cups butternut squash.  Put on a rimmed baking sheet, salt, toss with oil and place in oven.  Roast for 25 minutes.

By now, the poblano should have cooled enough the handle.  Pull out the stems and peel off the skin.  Remove seeds.  It is okay to run under water to get rid of last bit of skin and seeds.  Slice into 1/4 inch slices, then 1/4 inch pieces in the other direction to make little squares.  Set aside.

Once squash is done, set aside and lower oven to 350 degrees.

Once the sauce has finished, salt to taste, pull out 1 3/4 cup sauce for step four.  Pour the rest into a separate bowl for step five.

Step Four - Finish Enchilada Filling (Thanks Half Baked Harvest)

This step moves quickly.  Prep the following:

• 2 tablespoons olive/vegetable/coconut oil 
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder 
• 1 tsp cumin 
• 2 Tbs fresh sage, chopped 
• Roasted butternut squash from step 3
• 1 3/4 cup blistered enchilada sauce from step 3.
• Chopped poblano from step 3.
• 2 C shredded turkey 
• 1/2 C pomegranate seeds 
• 5 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Add the olive oil to the now empty pot the sauce was made in (no need to clean it out).  Heat on medium until just ready to smoke.  Add the chipotle chile powder, cumin and sage, cook about 1-2 minutes until fragrant.  Add the and the butternut squash, and toss until totally covered.  Slowly stir in the blistered enchilada sauce and diced poblano chili pieces. Cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce is warmed through. Remove from the heat and stir in the turkey, pomegranate and the shredded cheese.

Filling is now complete.  Salt to taste, but it should not be needed.

Step Five - Finish Enchiladas

Spray or brush with oil on one side of the tortillas then stack them up, slip them into a plastic bag, fold it over and microwave them at 100% for 1 minute. Let them stand for a minute (to uniformly absorb the heat). Then lay out the tortillas on the counter, top them each with 1/3 cup of the filling, roll them up and fit them into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce you set aside over them (covering the whole tortilla avoids dry ends), and lightly cover with more shredded cheese (do not slather it, it will overpower the filling which will blow your mind), slide them into the oven and bake just until heated through—about 6 minutes. Longer in the oven means mushy enchiladas. 

Serve

To serve the enchiladas, simply use a spatula to transfer them to dinner plates. Garnish the enchiladas with the topping(s) of your choice, chopped cabbage, sliced jalapenos, olives, crema, cheese, white onion (sliced into rings or chopped fine), and or cilantro leaves.