This dish proves that Mexican food is not always fast food. Working efficiently, it will take you close to 90 minutes to prepare this dish. So, this may not be a weeknight dish for you. But, on Friday or Saturday or Sunday night, with a lovely margarita in one hand, you can be roasting, stirring and rolling away.
Rick Rodgers wrote Comfort Food to give you the best possible recipe to recreate that “childhood memory” of the perfect dish. Who can resist chicken enchiladas? And surely no one can resist green ones.
If you have never had a tomatillo in your life, you are a deprived person. With their sharp, tangy flavor, roasted tomatillos provide zip and zest to this dish. There are so many flavors popping around in your mouth here that this is a meal certain to bring you satisfaction. And, if you are having a party or outing, this recipe easily scales up. Using corn tortillas makes these enchiladas gluten-free, an important consideration when cooking for crowd.
There are enough flavor components here to make this a very pleasing one-dish meal, so your 90 minutes in the kitchen will yield a complete dinner. And what to drink? A second margarita, some cold beer, or a refreshing agua fresca.
For variety, you can make this dish with turkey breasts instead to achieve the deeper, earthier notes turkey offers.
Green Chicken Enchiladas
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ pounds tomatillos, husks removed
- 2 poblano chilies
- 5 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 2 yellow onions, (1 quartered, 1 sliced)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and dried oregano
- Kosher salt
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, on the bone
- 1 package (7.5-ounces) Farmer's cheese, crumbled
- Freshly ground pepper
- ¼ cup canola oil, plus more for the baking dish
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- Sour cream for serving
- 1 ripe avocado, 1, pitted and cut into ½-inch (12-mm) dice, for serving
Preparation:
To make the enchilada sauce, position the broiler rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler. Place the tomatillos, chilies, and 3 cloves of the garlic on the rack. Brush the onion quarters with the oil and add to the rack. Broil the vegetables until they are browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic. Turn the remaining vegetables on the rack, and continue broiling until the tomatillos turn olive green, the chilies are blackened and blistered, and the onions are singed and tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove from the broiler and let cool. Remove the skins and seeds from the chilies, and peel the garlic. In a blender, puree the tomatillos, chilies, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt.
To make the filling, crush and peel the remaining 2 cloves garlic. Place the chicken in a medium saucepan with the sliced onion and peeled garlic. Add enough water to cover and season with 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium- low and partially cover the saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool in the saucepan for 10 minutes. Remove from the saucepan (you can save the broth for another use) and let cool completely. Remove the chicken meat from the breasts, discarding the bones. Shred the chicken meat. (Do not worry if the chicken is slightly underdone.) Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the farmer’s cheese, ½ cup of the enchilada sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 15-by-10-by-2-inch baking dish. Spread ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish.
Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. One at a time, fry the tortillas on both sides just until softened, about 10 seconds. Transfer to a plate. For each enchilada, spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of a tortilla, roll it up, and arrange, seam side down, in the dish. Cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the Monterey jack. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted and golden, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve at once, topping each serving with a dollop of sour cream and some diced avocado.
Source: Comfort Food by Rick Rodgers [Weldon Owen, 2014]