Crab Enchiladas with cheesy green sauce
These Crab Enchiladas are made with a cheesy green sauce--packed with shrimp and crab. It's seriously a good enchilada recipe that is on the elegant side, served with a side slaw and a glass of white wine. It's the best summer dinner to serve for a small dinner party if you love seafood cooking!About 60 minutes if using pre-made salsa verde for the sauce.The green sauce can also make for a delicious, creamy dip, can be added to tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and even drizzled over sautéed veggies or spread onto toast. Creamy Chili Green Sauce makes 3-4 cups.
Ingredients
Creamy Chili Green Sauce:
- 2 poblano chilis
- ½ lb tomatillos, 3-4 large
- ¼ white onion
- 1 jalapeño
- 2 green onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¾ packed cup cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- ½ c Mexican crema or sour cream
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
Crab Filling:
- ½ lb crab meat, substitute extra shrimp
- ½ lb shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into large 1’’ pieces
- 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to season
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
- 5-6 green onions, minced
- 2 cups shredded Jack cheese or Mexican cheese blend
- 6 6-inch corn tortillas, steamed or fried in oil
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- Preheat broiler. Arrange poblanos, tomatillos, onion, jalapeño, green onions, and garlic on a sheet tray. Broil until blistered, flipping once: 2 minutes per side for the green onion and garlic, 5-6 minutes per side for the peppers, tomatillos, and onion.
- Once blistered, remove the tray from the oven. Transfer poblanos and jalapeño to a bowl and cover tightly to steam: Let all ingredients cool about 10 minutes.
- Peel the blistered skin off and seed the the peppers, then add the poblanos, tomatillos, onion, jalapeño, green onion, and garlic to a blender, along with the cilantro, coriander, cumin, fish sauce, and salt.
- Blend until mostly smooth, then add the crema. Blend until smooth and set aside. SEASON TO TASTE (add more salt if needed).
Make the filling:
- Season the shrimp with salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano. Cover and refrigerate.
- In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt. Cook until softened, 8-10 minutes, then add the crab meat and green onion. Taste for salt and cook 5 minutes, then add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp are just cooked—5 minutes. Take off the heat and toss the seafood in about ½ cup of the sauce.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Spread 1 cup of sauce down the center of a 7 1/2’’ x 10 1/2’’ baking dish (or a similar sized pan). Evenly divide about 1 ¼ cup of the cheese and the seafood filling into each tortilla, roll them up, and place them seam side down, centered in the pan. Pour the remaining sauce over and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 15 minutes more until cheese is melted and gooey.
- Remove from the oven, garnish with cilantro and radish, and serve with pico de gallo, cotija cheese, cilantro, fresh lime juice, fresh acovado, black beans, or rice.
Notes
TIPS:
Before assembling the enchiladas, the tortillas should be lightly steamed or fried. To fry tortillas, heat about 1/2 cup of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a tortilla and fry about 30 seconds per side. The edges should sizzle, the center puff up with bubbles, and the oil will become fragrant. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Substitute the green sauce with 3-4 cups of salsa verde (I love Trader Joe's salsa verde), blended with 1 Tbsp fish sauce and 1/2 cup of Mexican crema or sour cream. Taste for salt and additional seasonings. Updated from May 2022.
Before assembling the enchiladas, the tortillas should be lightly steamed or fried. To fry tortillas, heat about 1/2 cup of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a tortilla and fry about 30 seconds per side. The edges should sizzle, the center puff up with bubbles, and the oil will become fragrant. Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Substitute the green sauce with 3-4 cups of salsa verde (I love Trader Joe's salsa verde), blended with 1 Tbsp fish sauce and 1/2 cup of Mexican crema or sour cream. Taste for salt and additional seasonings. Updated from May 2022.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 528kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 41g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.03g, Cholesterol: 167mg, Sodium: 3110mg, Potassium: 883mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 1095IU, Vitamin C: 71mg, Calcium: 849mg, Iron: 4mg