Cooking has a lot of history to it. We may not always realize it, or recognize the influences on our choices. I have been fascinated by knowing that until Columbus bumped into the Western hemisphere, and took some things back that he found there, that the cuisines across Europe, Africa and Asia where transformed. It was slaves he brought back first and foremost, but also new plants that changed cooking forever. You have probably heard me pontificate on this before.
Think about this quote “Christopher Columbus took native chilies, including hot and sweet peppers, back to Spain. A crewman wrote, “In those islands there are also bushes like rose bushes, which make fruit as long as cinnamon, full of small grains as biting as (Asian) pepper; those Caribs and the Indians eat that fruit like we eat apples.” This history can be harsh, the history of one culture over another. But it can also have elements of transformation, how a underdog cultural meme can conquer the world. The chili is one example of that. A food item that changed the cookbook of the world. It doesn’t get much more counter cultural than that. 
The other night I was tossing influences around, based, as usual, and items I had in my fridge. I had a turnip that was meant to be a learning experience for me. And it was. I had a lot of left over energy for Mexican food, which I have been playing with recently. More accurately I have been playing with Tex-Mex….that fusion of Mexican Tejanos cooking influences meeting American Protestants. And whether turnip and horseradish mash is Scottish….ahh….I am just going for it.
Maybe because I have no real culture that I can say…I am _____ (insert culture here), I find myself interested in cuisines where cultures meet. Especially those edges where cultures clash, or maybe, meld. Seriously…think about the British Curry…what does that even mean?
It means, I think, that the dominated culture infiltrated the dominant culture. We could argue about that. But all over the world, cuisines exhibit traits of the conquered. Cajun or Creole? That is French cooking? English Curry? Chinese cuisine? That is the point of title of this post.
This dinner was about my idea of food of real people from across the globe, Anaheim chili red sauce over turnip, horseradish, cumin stuffed enchiladas. I had some homemade horseradish wanting some love, a turnip messing with me, and a desire for some spicy Mexican influenced food. Home canned tomatoes, organic corn tortillas and some delicious Havarti dill cheese put it all together.
The sauce is slow sauteed onions, home smoked chilies and home canned tomato sauce, all simmered until it comes together right. The stuffing, turnips and carrots boiled until soft, mashed with olive oil, horseradish, cumin, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Mixed with a bit of cooked rice, black beans, and diced red bell pepper. Mix to taste and adjust.
Enchiladas are a process. I am just going to describe what I did for the stuffing. The rest of making enchiladas is easy to find on the intertubes and I have written on them also. The mash is simple. Turnips and carrots, cut into 1 inch cubes, boiled until fork soft. Drain and put into a bowl. Mash with cumin, lime juice, salt, pepper, pinch sugar and some hot pepper, all to taste. Generally speaking one good sized turnip and one carrot needs about 1 teaspoon of cumin, a pinch of sugar, a quarter teaspoon of hot pepper, and a tablespoon of lime juice. Add pepper and salt as you like.
Once you have a nice mash, fold in a mixture of cooked rice, black beans, sauteed shallots, red bell pepper and garlic. You should add about a cup to your turnip mash of one turnip, one carrot. Mix in a cup of grated cheese, as you like. I had some Havarti Dill that said YES, and it makes for a nice, soft cheesy consistency. Mix gently. Taste and adjust seasonings. So here you have an interesting stuffing for some enchiladas. Roll that up in some corn tortillas, smother with a lovely enchilada sauce, and toss in a 375 degree oven until nice and bubbly, about 15 plus minutes.
My sauce was homemade from my pantry. For sauce, what can I say. Take some home canned tomatoes, some home smoked Chipotles and Anaheims. You got that? OK, good. Slow cook some onion, caramelizing. Add some minced garlic and cook until you smell garlic. Add canned tomato stuff, let warm nicely. Add in crushed, smoked chipotle and anaheim. CAREFULLY! This can be hot! You need to mix it in, let the dried peppers mix into the sauce as cooking, and taste. Work to your heat level.
So that’s it. Like I said, a process. Your process. And maybe, an interesting new twist on enchiladas.
Cooking for the Future 
This sounds great.