Onion-Cheese Taquitos with Tomatillo-Mint Sauce

Taquito, a Mexican dish is basically a small rolled-up tortilla with any kind of filling usually meat or cheese. Traditionally the filled tortilla is deep fried. 

My version is both vegetarian and healthy. So, I chose to bake the taquitos to make this a more everyday meal. I also crisped onions to add the sweet caramelized flavor to the cheese taquitos.

The perfect pair for cheesy tortillas are tomatillos. The easiest way of using them are making salsa verde, a tomatillo sauce which have many variations. Mine uses cilantro, mint and garlic. 

8 flour tortillas ( 6″ or 8″ size)
2 cups shredded pepper jack or monterey jack cheese (I used a mixture of both)
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced lengthwise

For the tomatillo-mint sauce:

1 large can whole tomatillos( 8-10 if using fresh) 
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium yellow onion
2 jalapenos, roughly chopped ( I use the whole pepper with seeds, you can deseed to make it milder)
3 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tsp salt 

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a saucepan add 1 cup of water, the tomatillos and salt. Bring this to a boil and cook uncovered or 7-8 minutes until the tomatillos just begin to break down. To this add the garlic, onions, jalapenos and cook covered for 15-20 minutes until all the vegetables cook to tender. Add the cilantro, mint and let cool for 5 minutes. 

Blend this using a hand blender into a smooth mixture. This salsa verde makes a great side to tortilla chips, works great with fajitas, burritos and is fantastic for breakfast over eggs. 

In a non-stick pan heat 2 tbsps canola oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook while stirring for around 15-20 minutes until the onions cook, brown, crisp and caramelize. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place a tortilla on a plate. Spread 3-4 tbsps cheese across it and top with 2 tbsps of the onions. Wrap the tortilla tightly and place on a greased baking sheet. Roll the remaining tortillas until you use up all the cheese onions. Arrange the tortillas on the sheet and bake for 8 minutes until the outside gets crispy and the cheese is molten.

 

Serve the tortillas with sauce drizzled on top.

Did I hear a Burrp?