eclaire (what’s in a) name?

this is a recipe that i’ve been meaning to share with you forever. but until this weekend, i had never taken pictures of the process. can you believe it?!?

i first ate these enchiladas when mike’s mom and sister made them for thanksgiving a few years ago. since then, they’re the only enchiladas i make – although i tend to reserve the recipe for special occasions, because it takes a bit of prep work (nothing too hard, as you’ll see in the recipe below, just a little lengthy for a weeknight).

so when my friend and her bf came into town from boston (hi, megan! hi, phil! do you recognize the hands in the pictures below?), i knew this was the perfect dish to make, because a) it’s super flavorful, with both spicy and sweet elements; b) there’s so many different textures happening, from the crunchy corn and pecans to the creamy butternut squash; and c) you can make most of the recipe in advance and enjoy spending time with your guests.

to make the recipe both gluten-free and cow milk-free, i sprinkled goat cheese inside the enchiladas, which made them even more scrumptious than usual (in the past, i’ve sprinkled the top of the enchiladas with cheddar cheese, which you can definitely do. but goat cheese inside is so much better. you’ve been warned.). oh, and in case you want ideas to round out the meal, we served it with cilantro rice, black beans, guacamole, salsa, and chips. yum!

one year ago: egg salad
two years ago: german pancakes
three years ago: lemon poppyseed scones
four years ago: banana bread

butternut squash enchiladas

yields 20 enchiladas, serves 8-10 people

• 30 oz butternut squash, cubed
• olive oil
• 16oz corn – either frozen, canned, or fresh
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1c pecan pieces
• 2T garlic, minced
• 2t ground cumin
• 2t paprika
• 1t salt
• 1t cinnamon
• 20 corn tortillas
• 8-12 oz goat cheese, optional (and the amount depends upon how much cheese you want!)
• 2oz baby spinach
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1. preheat your oven to 350º
2. toss the butternut squash in olive oil and roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through the baking time
3. meanwhile, grease two 9×12″ baking pans
4. in a large bowl, combine the corn, onion, pecans, garlic, cumin, salt, paprika, cinnamon, and butternut squash (once it’s roasted and out of the oven, of course!)
5. spoon about 1/2c of the mixture into a tortilla, then top with goat cheese and a few spinach leaves
6. place the enchiladas seam down in the baking dish
7. top with red sauce (recipe below – make sure you completely cover the tortillas so they don’t get crispy) and bake for 25 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling, and enjoy!

red sauce

yields enough to cover 20 enchiladas, serves 8-10 people

• 6T chili powder
• 6T flour (i subbed about 3T cornstarch to make it gluten-free, which worked pretty well)
• 2t cocoa powder
• 1t salt
• 2t oregano
• 6c water
• 16oz tomato sauce
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1. combine all the dry ingredients in a large pan and add water slowly until you’ve made a thin paste
2. then add the rest of the water and mix with a whisk over medium heat until the mixture thickens
3. stir in the tomato sauce then spoon over enchiladas!