Seafood Enchiladas

December 2038. First December since 2016 without the enchilada Monday. David made the enchiladas for his team. I know because Rodriguez texted me a photo — a hundred red enchiladas, assembly-line production, David and Lisa (my Lisa, who offered to help) standing at the counter. She asked if I minded. I said: absolutely not. She said she told David my recipe and he said he already had it — he'd been watching me make it for seven years and had notes. I said: of course he did.

Christmas this year was all four kids and their people. Sofia and Adrienne flew in. Marco brought Priya. Diego and Keisha and Maya. Elena drove up from Albuquerque. Eight adults and one five-year-old, the house at maximum capacity, every surface occupied. Maya went to each person methodically on Christmas Eve and presented them with a drawing she'd made: each drawing was of that person cooking something. She gave me a drawing of me at the stove with a pot labeled "poso" — posole, missing a syllable, which she will not be letting go of when she's older if I have anything to say about it.

I put the drawing on the refrigerator and I will keep it there for as long as it stays together. It is one of the best things I own. A five-year-old's understanding of who I am, rendered in crayon: a man at a stove with a pot of poso. She sees me clearly. She already knows what matters about me. I don't need any other legacy than that.

I’ve been thinking about enchiladas a lot lately — what it means that David had notes, that Lisa offered to help, that the tradition moved out of my kitchen and into his without anyone asking my permission, and without anything being lost. That felt like something worth honoring in my own cooking. Seafood enchiladas aren’t my Monday recipe, but they carry the same spirit: layered, careful, made for a table full of people. Maya drew me at a stove. This is the kind of thing I’d be making.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped
1/2 lb lump crab meat, picked clean
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
12 flour tortillas (6-inch)
2 cups green enchilada sauce
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
2 green onions, sliced, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce across the bottom.
Cook the filling. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, poblano, cumin, and paprika; stir and cook 1 minute more. Add shrimp and cook just until pink, 2—3 minutes. Remove from heat and fold in crab meat. Season with salt and pepper.
Make the cream mixture. In a large bowl, stir together the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Fold in 1/2 cup of the Monterey Jack. Add the seafood mixture and stir gently to combine.
Fill the tortillas. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Top and bake. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Monterey Jack. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 10—12 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and lightly golden.
Rest and garnish. Let the enchiladas rest 5 minutes before serving. Top with fresh cilantro and sliced green onions.

Nutrition (per serving)

Seafood Enchiladas — The Recipe That Lives On Without Me