the slowness of enchiladas

I make one Mexican dish that is good. I know this because it is a requested dish. The problem is that this particular kind of enchilada takes a while to make. I guess the green sauce for the dish is what makes it take forever.

It is a pretty authentic dish that could be made back in the good ol' US of A. I thought I would share the recipe with you. I got it from a cookbook that I bought in the US. I have adjusted some things and don't really look at the recipe anymore so I am not sure what has been adjusted.

Ingredients:

5-7 tomatillos

1 large onion

1/4 c cilantro

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 c chicken stock

2 tbsp oil

2-3 Serrano peppers

1 c crumbling cheese (Mexican queso anejo, feta or mild Parmesan)

2 chicken breasts

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp salt

1/2 c sour cream

8-12 corn tortillas

oil for frying the tortillas

Bake at 400F.

Take the tomatillos and Serrano peppers and put them in a pot and boil them for, oh, 15 to 20 minutes. They will turn a darker green when they are done.

While waiting for the tomatillos to cook, get the cilantro, onion (1/2) and garlic ready. All of these ingredients will be put in the blender. Rough chop the cilantro and 1/2 of the onion. Go ahead and finely chop the garlic so there won't be any clumps in the mixture.

After prepping for the sauce you can get the chicken ready. You will need the chicken breasts, a handful of chopped onion, salt and marjoram. Put all ingredients in a pot and cook until chicken is cooked through.

Once the tomatillos and peppers are done, put them (minus the water) with the cilantro, onion and garlic into a blender and blend until smooth.

While the blender is running, drain water from the pan add oil and put it back on the burner. Heat the oil and once the sauce is smooth, pour it into the pan. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes. The sauce will darken a bit. Then add the chicken stock to the pan. (I usually put the stock in the blender so the remainder of the sauce that stuck to the blender will come out with the stock.)

You will cook the sauce until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spatula. While that is cooking, you can prepare the cooked chicken. You will need the chicken, remainder of the onion (finely chopped), cheese and sour cream.

Drain all the water (and onion and marjoram) from the pan. Let the chicken cool a bit and then shred it with your hands. Put it back in the pan and add the onion, cheese (keep a little to crumble over before you serve) and sour cream. Mix it all together and put it to the side.

With the sauce and chicken ready, heat a pan with a layer of oil (maybe 1/4 inch). You will take the tortillas and put them in the pan (I do two at a time in a skillet) and fry them about 5-6 seconds on each side. Remove them from the oil and place on a layer of paper towel.

Take a large spoonful of sauce and put it on a dinner plate. You will use this to drudge the tortillas after they have been fried. Put a tortilla on the plate and then flip it over, coating each side with the sauce. Then take a heaping tablespoon full of the chicken mixture and put it in the middle of the coated tortilla. Fold it up and place it in a baking dish.

Once you have run out of chicken mixture (I made a total of 10 enchiladas) coat them with some of the remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Pour the remaining sauce in a bowl and use to pour a little on the enchiladas before you serve. Do the same for some of the sour cream.

Hopefully these are as yummy to you as they are to me. If any of you Indy friends want to try and don't want to do the work, I would be happy to make them for you once I get back.