Dock Enchiladas
As much as it is about food, foraging is also a meditation. To harvest a plant, one leaf after another is a cycle. So, too, is foraging daily. As is looking forward to the emergence and heyday of that plant, year after year. All concentric circles traced in time, my flesh, my mind.
And so it will continue, the never-ending series of firsts, repeated.
The cycles, the circles. The little births, the quiet deaths. The big ones, too.
Rumination galvanizing celebration.
Flesh rooted in the soil, aching toward eternity.
Dock Enchiladas
10 corn tortillas
1/2 batch quickie enchilada sauce
4 handfuls of dock, washed and chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. queso fresco, crumbled
2 c. Monterey jack, shredded
1/2 c. sour cream
1. Either on the grill or in a dry cast iron skillet, reheat your tortillas until they are soft, then place them in a tortilla warmer (alternately, wrap them in a dish towel).
2. In a heavy skillet, heat a spoonful of lard over medium heat. Throw the onion into the pan, stir, and let it cook until translucent. Add the dock leaves and salt, and cook them until they have completely wilted and become a deep green. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Combine the dock and onion mixture with the queso fresco, half of the shredded jack, and the sour cream.
4. Time to assemble. Fill each tortilla with approximately two tablespoons of filling (eyeball it), roll, and place into an 8x8" pan. I was able to fit seven across, two on the top, and cut the last one in half to finish filling the corner.
5. Top the bundles with the enchilada sauce, and remaining shredded cheese. Cover the pan with foil, and bake in a 350 degree (F) oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese looks bubbly.
6. Serve your dock enchiladas topped with a big spoonful of crema, a side of homemade refried beans, and jicama salad (jicama matchsticks tossed with chopped cilantro, lime juice, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of sugar).
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