Collard Onion, & Black Bean Enchiladas w/ Tomatillo Salsa

soooo good. these enchiladas were a lot prettier than the ones we made last time - our skills are improving! also totally delicious. i've never used tomatillos before and i was pretty scared of them - they're all sticky and weird and look like eggplants on the inside and taste kind of like grapes - but it turns out they make awesome salsa! they have this great fruity acidity that makes it so you don't have to add any extra lime juice or vinegar to the salsa. very cool.

Collard Onion, & Black Bean Enchiladas w/ Tomatillo Salsa

~10 pretty small tomatillos, washed and cored

2 big cloves garlic

1 - 2 jalapenos, to taste

handful of cilantro leaves (optional or replace with parsley if you're cilantrophobic)

~ 1 cup crema or sour cream

1 bunch collards (or swiss chard), sliced into thin enchilada-length ribbons

2 medium onion, sliced into enchilada-length strips

~1 tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin

~1 cup cooked black beans (dried have better texture than canned and are cheaper)

~8 tortillas

~1 cup shredded cheese

Make the salsa: puree the tomatillos, garlic, and jalapenos (you can chop by hand if you have no pureeing tool but it's gonna be a whole lot of work. you want everything as finely chopped as possible). Adjust the flavor - it might need a bit of sugar, acid, or more heat - but don't add salt cause there will be a lot in the vegies and cheese. put it in a pot and simmer it until it gets pretty darn thick. stir in the sour cream or crema.

preheat to 375.

Sautee the vegies: heat up some oil on medium-high and saute your onions until they get translucent. add the collards, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste, and cook until everything is soft and the collards have lost most of their bitterness. Add the black beans and cook another minute or so until the onions are getting deliciously browned.

pour a little bit of the sauce in the bottom of a deep baking dish (a brownie pan works well). cut all of your tortillas in half. Dip each half tortilla in the warm sauce to soften it up, shake off the excess, and then place a bit of vegetable mixture and a bit of cheese near one end and roll it up tight like a sleeping bag (don't fold the edges in like a burrito). aim to have at least a little bit of cheese left at the end. place them all neatly lined up in the dish. when you're done, pour the rest of the sauce over the top and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese over that.

bake the whole for about 20 minutes, then put it under the broiler until the cheese on top gets bubbly and brown. let it cool a little and enjoy!