Paradise Cafe enchilada recipe

Paradise Cafe in Lawrence, KS was my favorite restaurant back in the college days. Sadly no longer with us, but I made some great friends there.

(You can find their facebook page at facebook paradise cafe group )

For some reason or another, I got hold of the enchilada recipe, so here it is:

Filling

1 pound spinach, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup finely diced onions
2/3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper
dash Tabasco
Cheese sauce
3 tablespoons margarine
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
16 ounces sour cream
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
1 2-ounce jar diced pimientos, rinsed
 /2 teaspoon salt
 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco or to taste
 1 cup or 4 ounces grated Swiss cheese
 12 6-inch blue corn tortillas
 1 1/4 cups or 5 ounces grated Swiss cheese
 chopped tomatoes and black olives
 salsa
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Make filling: Sauté onions in oil until translucent. Add mushrooms, garlic and oregano. Continue to cook until mushrooms are soft. Add spinach and sauté until wilted. Add salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste.
Make cheese sauce: Melt margarine in saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in milk a little at a time and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until smooth and thickened. Do not add other ingredients until sauce is thickened. Add sour cream, chilies, pimientos, salt and Tabasco. Heat through but do not boil or the sauce will break apart. Add Swiss cheese a little at a time, stirring constantly. Remove from heat as soon as the cheese has completely melted.
Heat heavy skillet or griddle until hot. Quickly heat corn tortillas on skillet. Spoon some of the spinach filling down the center of each tortilla. Add some Swiss cheese and 1 to 2 tablespoons cheese sauce.
Roll tortilla around filling and place, flap side down, in a shallow casserole. Cover and warm in 375-degree oven until enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted. Just before serving, pour cheese sauce over tortillas. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and black olives.
Serve with salsa. Makes 12 enchiladas.

1 thought on “Paradise Cafe enchilada recipe

  1. Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I’ve been searching for it forever! One of my absolute favorites at Paradise. I once saw it posted on Facebook on a page of former employees/customers of Paradise Cafe. I lived in Lawrence while Paradise was in business and remember how busy they were, on Sundays especially. What a great place it was!

    Thanks again!

    Leslie

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