Halibut Enchiladas -- When You Finally Make the Thing You've Been Putting Off

The ranch operations continue regardless of what Washington does, which is both a comfort and a limitation — a comfort because work continues, a limitation because not engaging with the larger world is its own kind of choice. I engage, from here. I vote and I follow the news and I form opinions that I mostly keep private because my county doesn't have much room for the kind of opinions I have. That's a sentence that could use unpacking that I'm not going to do here. It's enough to say I'm aware of the room I'm in and what it contains.

Drove Dad to his neurology appointment in Bozeman Tuesday. This is now a regular thing — every three months, two-hour round trip, Dr. Varela who has been managing his Parkinson's since the fall. She adjusts the medication as needed and monitors the progression and answers the questions Dad writes down in a small notebook before the visit. He writes them down carefully, reviews the notebook in the waiting room. He is a methodical man in all things.

The progression has been slow, which Dr. Varela says is consistent with the early diagnosis and the medication compliance. His tremor is controlled. His gait is slightly different than it was — I notice it most on uneven ground, where the compensation requires more attention than it used to. He doesn't notice me noticing. Or if he does, he doesn't say so.

Made my first tortillas from scratch this week, which is something I've been meaning to do for years and kept not doing. Flour, lard, salt, hot water, rested and rolled thin. The process is forgiving and the result is better than store-bought in the way homemade bread is better than store-bought: not necessarily more consistent, but more alive, more present in the eating. Cole asked if he could take a few home. I gave him half the batch.

Making those tortillas from scratch was the thing this week that felt most like paying attention — same as sitting in the waiting room with Dad, same as noticing his gait on uneven ground without saying so. You do the thing carefully, you let it rest, you roll it thin, and it comes out better than you expected. It seemed right to use them for something more than just handing half the batch to Cole, so the next night I made enchiladas with the halibut I had in the freezer. If you’re going to the trouble of real tortillas, fill them with something that deserves it.

Halibut Enchiladas

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs halibut fillets, skin removed
• 2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1/2 cup lard or shortening
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1 can (10 oz) green enchilada sauce
• 1 can (10 oz) red enchilada sauce
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Fresh cilantro and lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the tortillas. Combine flour, lard, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Work the fat into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add hot water gradually, mixing until a soft dough forms. Knead 2—3 minutes, then cover and let rest 30 minutes.
2. Roll and cook the tortillas. Divide dough into 12 equal balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a thin round, about 8 inches across. Cook in a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, 45—60 seconds per side, until lightly blistered. Set aside under a clean towel.
3. Cook the halibut. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Season halibut with remaining 1/2 tsp salt, cumin, and chili powder. Cook fillets 3—4 minutes per side until opaque and just flaking. Remove from heat and flake into large pieces with a fork.
4. Build the filling. In the same skillet, sauté onion over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Combine flaked halibut, onion mixture, sour cream, and 3/4 cup of the cheese. Stir gently to combine.
5. Assemble the enchiladas. Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix the green and red enchilada sauces together and spread 1/2 cup of the combined sauce across the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Spoon filling down the center of each tortilla, roll tightly, and place seam-side down in the dish.
6. Sauce and bake. Pour remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 25—30 minutes until the cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling at the edges.
7. Serve. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro and lime wedges on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 780mg