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chicken enchiladas verde revisited
Chicken enchiladas with green (verde) sauce are my absolute favorites. During a week-long visit in Texas, I’ll probably eat them at least three times! But, alas, they are just not readily available around Salem. So we decided to learn how to make them ourselves.
We posted about our first enchilada attempts using recipes from Cooks Illustrated previously . Of course, I’ve been fiddling with the recipe since then. The CI recipe for enchiladas verde had a filling mixture that was a bit dry and boring compared to the filling for the red enchiladas (the red enchiladas recipe called for you to add some of the sauce to the filling and for some reason the green did not.) and both filling and sauce were not quite tangy enough.
The other night I revisited the recipe, made a few changes (with Dom’s help pinch-hitting when I needed to feed and bathe the baby) and was very pleased with the results. I substituted canned jalapenos for the fresh jalapenos in the sauce. I think the brine added some of the needed tang (I suspect that if I used garlic the sauce might not have seemed as flat). I substituted a Mexican 4 cheese mix for the sharp cheddar in the filling and thought it was a bit creamier and had a better flavor
Ingredients:
- Tomatillo Sauce
2 teaspoons vegetable oil or corn oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon) (optional… I don’t use garlic in my cooking as it gives me migraines)
3/4 pound small tomatillos, husks and stems removed, each tomatillo quartered (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 small can (4 oz) chopped jalapeno chiles (reserve 2 tablespoons for the filling)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Filling
2 teaspoons vegetable oil or corn oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 thighs), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 ounces shredded Mexican 4 cheese mix (2 cups)
2 tablespoons canned chopped jalapenos
Tortillas and Toppings
12 corn tortillas (six-inch)
Vegetable cooking spray
3 ounces Mexican 4 cheese mix (3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Additional Optional Garnishes to serve at table:
sour cream
diced avocado
shredded romaine lettuce
2 limes, quartered
Directions
For the tomatillo sauce: Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomatillos, jalapenos, sugar and salt; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1/3 cup of water and bring to a simmer; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until tomatillos are softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer mixture to blender and puree until smooth, about 30 seconds; set aside.
For the filling: Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stiring ocassionally, until beginning to soften and brown, about 3 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken mixture to large plate; freeze for 10 minutes to cool, then combine with cilantro, cheese and about 1/4 cup of sauce in medium bowl and set aside.
Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees.
Smear entire bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish with 3/4 cup chili sauce. Place tortillas on two baking sheets. Spray both sides lightly with cooking spray. Bake until tortillas are soft and pliable, about 4 minutes. Place warm tortillas on counter-top. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place 1/3 cup filling down center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly by hand and place in baking dish, side by side, seam-side down.* Pour remaining chili sauce over top of enchiladas. Use back of spoon to spread sauce so it coats top of each tortilla. Sprinkle cilantro and 1/4 cup grated cheese over the top of enchiladas.
Cover baking dish with foil. Bake enchiladas on lower-middle rack until heated through and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and serve immediately, passing sour cream, avocado, lettuce, and lime wedges separately.
Makes 12 enchiladas. Serves 4 or 5
Adapted from a recipe in Cook’s Illustrated magazine.
* We usually have extra filling; but we save it and it makes great quesadillas later in the week.
COMMENTS
hey yall havnt updated in awhile, plz do plzzzzzz 
(there wasnt no comment box or i couldnt figure it out earlier)
Posted by
on 05/10/07 at 01:37 AMCommenting is not available in this weblog entry.
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