Mexican Seafood Enchiladas at Hay’s Place in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget
For a West Coast family reunion, my daughter Florence Paget, husband Laurent, and I went to Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach, California for a Mexican meal overlooking the Pacific and golf course. This is a great spot for a family vacation photo.
We began our meal with our standard order of smashed guacamole and salsa. The guacamole at Hay’s Place is a salad with chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, avocado, and a little tequila. The corn chips that come with the guacamole are mostly blue corn chips and have a smokier taste than yellow corn chips.
I tried the enchiladas del mar trio (3 seafood enchiladas with different sauces). On the day we visited Hay’s Place, the daily catch for one of the enchiladas was tilapia. (I lucked out!)
Enchiladas are warmed soft corn tortillas wrapped around fillings with sauces on top that are baked to oozing goodness. At Hay’s Place, the enchiladas were filled with seafood, roasted mild green peppers that could be New Mexico chili peppers, and creamy Oaxacan crema cheese that is less tangy than sour cream with a dairy flavor.
As I mentioned, the first enchilada in this trio was filled with sautéed tilapia fillet, mild green pepper strips, and Oaxacan crema cheese. The filling was wrapped with a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a mole poblano, a savory spiced chocolate sauce.
The second enchilada was filled with lobster, mild roasted green peppers, and Oaxacan cheese. The sauce for this lobster enchilada was a mild red sauce that tasted as if it had been made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili peppers, and seasonings like oregano, cumin, and paprika. The sauce was light and let the lobster flavor shine.
The third enchilada was filled with shrimp, mild roasted green pepper, and Oaxacan crema cheese as well. This enchilada was also wrapped in a soft blue corn tortilla. The sauce on this enchilada was a piquant green sauce most probably made with Mexican tomatillo green tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, cilantro, and garlic.
This grandiose selection of enchiladas came with stewed black beans mixed with tequila and Spanish rice made with tomato juice, chicken broth, and a few chopped green peppers.
As a beverage, I drank Mexican Jarritos Mandarin orange soda that is partially made with orange juice. It still has sugar, but also has Vitamin C.
For a tonic, spa meal that is also a little exotic during a golfing trip or tour of 17-Mile Drive, I highly recommend Hay’s Place at Pebble Beach. (Definitely a Blue Zones Outing by the ocean in fresh air!)
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
