Tomatillados de Barbacoa

Thanks for joining me on another foray into "Tex-Mex", my favorite portmanteau. Almost everyone knows about enchiladas. All that means is something that has had chiles added to it.* These are almost like enchiladas, but not quite - a different twist on a familiar face.

Ingredients
3/4 lb barbacoa (recipe elsewhere)
1/2 white onion, finely diced
8 corn tortillas
1 lb tomatillos
8 oz queso quesadilla cheese
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Method
Warm up the barbacoa in a skillet, and season with salt, pepper and garlic to taste. Add in the onion, stirring to incorporate. Remove from heat and set aside.


Warm the tortillas to make them flexible without breaking. Here i am keeping them in a tortilla warmer, heating them on a comal, and spooning in about an ounce and a half of the filling into each one. Then I roll them up snugly and start laying them in an 8x8 casserole dish. Continue until dish is full.


Remove the stems and husks from the tomatillos, place them in a food processor or blender with a little salt and whiz them until relatively smooth. Pour a decent layer of this tomatillo sauce over the tortillas


Grate the queso quesadilla liberally over the tortillas in an even layer. This Mexican cheese is very much like mozzarella, but has a more pronounced and unique taste.



In the picture below, you can see the cheese nicely distributed. I had a little of the filling left so I just tucked it into the unused corner of the dish.


Pop into a 350° over for 20-25 minutes. You don't have to cook anything, just get it all nice and hot. After it comes out, top with chopped cilantro, or a nice fresh salsa. Momma was hungry, so I didn't get a 'complete' finished pic:


Here is the final product, along with some Spanish rice and refried beans:


*Enchilada is the past participle of Spanish enchilar, "to add chile pepper to," literally to "season (or decorate) with chile." - Diccionario de la Lengua Española, Vigésima segunda edición. Real Academia Española. 2003.