Enchiladas with green sauce
Now that I am back in Texas, I am able to enjoy Mexican food and Mexican products, something that I really missed living in Lebanon for the last ten years. One of my favorite Mexican dishes is enchiladas with salsa verde (green sauce). I checked a few Mexican chefs online and found some variations in ingredients and method from one chef to the other. Some chefs like to add more chilies like serrano, jalapeños, and poblanos. One chef adds a small squash to her sauce. One prominent online chef uses sesame seeds! The sauce is a combo of green chilies, cilantro, onion, garlic and tomatillos mixed with Mexican cream (similar to the French crème fraiche) and cheese. The authentic Mexican cheeses are not available in the US, even in the Latino supermarkets, but any good white melting cheese would work.
Enchiladas with green sauce
Joumana Accad Mediterranean, Middle Eastern September 10, 2020 Main Dish, Poultry, enchiladas, mexican, tortilla, chicken,6-8 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
10 to 12 corn tortillas (or flour)
1 lb chicken, shredded or 2 full chicken breasts (to cook)
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese
12 large tomatillos, husks removed
3 to 4 chilies (jalapeño, serrano, poblano, hatch)
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 cup thick Mexican cream or crème fraiche or sour cream
salt, to taste. cumin, turmeric, cinnamon (1 tsp each)
Instructions
- To prepare the chicken filling: two options. One is to simmer the chicken breasts in several cups of water with some flavoring (like half an onion, a few sprigs of cilantro, a stick of cinnamon, a few peppercorns, a bay leaf). The other option is to buy a roasted chicken and shred it patiently.
- The tomatillo sauce is prepared by roasting the chile peppers first till charred. The chile can be roasted on the stove or in the oven on broil and when blackened transferred to a plastic bag. Seal the bag for a couple minutes then peel the chilies. Discard the seeds inside the chilies and set them aside.
- Place the chilies, tomatillos, onion, garlic and a dash of salt in a pot with three cups of water and boil until the tomatillos change color. Puree the content of the pot with the cilantro in a blender. Fry a couple spoonfuls of oil in the pot, and fry the sauce for about 10 minutes. Add the cream and blend well. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Fry the corn tortillas a few seconds till they are softened. Dry the excess oil on paper towels. Spoon a few ladles of the green sauce on the pyrex or clay pan and spread all around. Stuff each tortilla with some chicken, some sauce and a bit of shredded cheese. Roll and place in the pan. Place the tortillas side by side. Cover the tortillas with green sauce and shredded cheese. Bake in a preheated 350F oven till the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly, around 20 minutes.
- Serve with salsa if desired.
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