Enchiladas

There has been much sewing happening here over the past two weeks, but all of it for other people, so shall we talk a bit more about food and drink instead?  I do find summer food a drag - I like light things, and I like quick things when the weather is hot.  It is too much to have the oven on for hours, or to stand over the stove stirring a risotto.  And yet the children want something substantial in the evenings - their appetites do not seeem to diminish in hot weather like mine does.

A great summer supper for us is enchiladas with a big pile of green salad on the side.  Enchiladas are a Mexican dish originally, but I am sure my version is more anglicised.  Not even Tex-Mex but East-London Mex.  They are very easy - filled tortilla wraps, baked in the oven with a tomato sauce.

Tonight's filling for the wraps was turkey, green pepper, onion and sweetcorn.  I usually make these without meat though - avocado and kidney bean is very good, as is just onion and pepper.

Make your filling - it doesn't need any sauce.  If you are using avocado and beans, you don't even need to do any cooking - just peel and chop the avocado, drain and rinse the beans and mix together.  To make my turkey filling I very briefly softened the onion, then added the turkey mince and pepper and cooked for just a couple of minutes until the meat was browned.

Next, spread a tortilla with a little bit of sour cream or creme fraiche and put a few spoonfuls of filling along the middle of it.  Fold in the sides and then roll up and put in a baking dish.  Repeat until you've used up all your tortillas and they're nestling snugly in the dish.

Pour over a simple tomato sauce that you've made with an onion, some garlic and a tin of tomatoes.  I really love my enchiladas with a hot, chilli-tomato sauce, so will often add a good shake of dried chillis to the pan, but Cam really objects to hot spices so sometimes I make it without.

Add a good grating of cheese over the top of the wrapped tortillas and sauce, and bake in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes at about gas 6.  Minimal time in the oven is good in the summer.

Serve with a huge pile of lettuce and a sharp dressing on the side.  My children manage two of these each, but that's a big, growing-child sized portion.  I can only manage about one and a half in this weather.  If I make them in the winter I often serve them with rice rather than salad, which makes the whole meal incredibly substantial and cheap.

The children can pretty much make them by themselves - tonight I folded the wraps and lifted the dish in and out of the oven, but the children did everything else.  Cam made the sauce (no chillli as he was chef) and Livvy chopped vegetables, grated cheese and spread creme fraiche around.

And then they ate them all up, which is the best recommendation I can give really.