Enchiladas/

Enchiladas Suizas (Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Melted Cheese)

Enchiladas Suizas
Servings: 12enchiladas, serving 4
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Ingredients

  • 2pounds ripe tomatoes—plum tomatoes make the best textured sauce OR 2 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed
  • Freshhot chiles to taste (roughly 3 serranos or 2 jalapenos), stemmed
  • 1medium (6-ounce) white onion, sliced ½-inch thick
  • 2tablespoons vegetable oil, plus a little extra for brushing or spraying the tortillas
  • 2cups chicken broth, plus a little extra if needed
  • 1/2cup Mexican crema, crème fraiche or heavy (whipping) cream
  • Salt
  • About 2cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken, preferably grilled, roasted or rotisserie chicken
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • About 1cup shredded Mexican melting cheese like Chihuahua or Monterey Jack, brick or mild cheddar
  • A fewslices of white onion, separated into rings, for garnish
  • A fewsprigs of cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Make the sauce. Spread out the tomatoes or tomatillos, the chiles and the onion onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast under a preheated broiler until blackening and soft on one side (about 6 minutes), then flip everything over and roast on the other side.  Cool and, if using tomatoes, slip off their blackened skins.  Scrape everything (including any juices) into a blender jar and process until nearly smooth (a little texture preserves the beautiful homemade quality of the sauce).  Heat the oil in a large (4-quart) saucepan over medium-high.  When hot enough to make a drop of the puree sizzle sharply, add it all at once and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until nearly as thick as tomato paste, 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir in the chicken broth and crema (or one of its stand-ins), then simmer for a few minutes to bring the flavors together.  The sauce should be the consistency of a light cream soup:  if thicker, add a little more broth; if thinner, simmer a little while longer.  Taste and season with salt, usually about 1 ½ teaspoons, cover and keep warm over low heat. 

Finish the Enchiladas.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Stir about ½ cup of the sauce into the chicken to moisten it, then warm it in a small saucepan or in the microwave oven at 100% power for about 1 minute.  Brush or spray both sides of each tortilla with a light coating of oil, slide them into a plastic bag, fold the bag over (but don’t seal) and microwave at 100% power for 1 minute.  Let stand one minute.  

Smear a couple tablespoons of sauce over the bottom of each of four to six 9-inch ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear a scant cup over the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.  Two or 3 at a time, lay hot tortillas on the countertop, top each with a portion of chicken, roll up and lay into the baking dish(es).  Douse evenly with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the cheese.  Bake until the cheese is beginning to brown and serve right away, garnished with onion rings and cilantro.   

Comments

  1. This was an excellent recipe! The sauce was a bit thin, but I should have reduced more. Flavors were fabulous! Will make vegetarian next time for a change up. Thanks!

  2. In the YouTube video it is mentioned to use “a mixture of roasted vegetables—carrots, zucchini or Mexican calabacitas, butternut, red onion, cauliflower, broccoli or broccoli rabe, pretty much anything that’s roastable.” All of those vegetables together will work well, including the Tuscan Kale, or does Rick mean picking some vegetables from that list?

  3. Absolutely delicious. I’ve been eyeing some of your recipes but haven’t delved into making any yet. I’m so glad I tried this one. I only had a pound and a half of tomatillos so I added a ripe tomato to bring it closer to 2 lbs and I also didn’t have a full 1/2 cup of mexican crema. Also kinda skimped on the roasting part, my serranos hardly roasted at all but it still turned out amazing.

    This is definitely going to become a regular dish in my household.

  4. I am going to try your Recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
    Than I know that I am really eating a good Mexican food Enchildas better than going out eating at Taco Bell.

  5. This is a classic that’s so easy to make. The video improved the tortilla situation tremendously. I used to put them in a skillet with oil to soften them but the microwave trick makes for a way better , easier to work with, tortilla. That’s a thumbs up. The rest is as easy as it gets and that’s one of the reasons i liked the books i got so much. You can tell they been abused just looking at them. So , an easy reciepe that i made i don’t know how many times just got a heck of a lot better 🙂 Thanks Rick.

  6. Really enjoyed this recipe, Rick! I had some leftover fajita meat and this was a perfect way to repurpose. I had some bok choy and a leek in the fridge, so sautéed that up with some onion and spices to make it taste a bit more south of the border. I threw in the fajita meat, a couple spoonfuls of the enchilada sauce, and it made a super tasty dish!

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