Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo (Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas)

If you go out to a Mexican restaurant with me, I can almost guarantee three things will happen. I will have no self control with the chips and salsa. If a passion fruit margarita is on the menu, I would like one. With salt. I will order enchiladas for my meal. On a rare occasion, I will order fish tacos or some other item on the menu to try to branch out. But I love enchiladas.

My goal was to get this out today in case you still want to embrace your inner-Mexican spirit but don’t have a dinner plan for tomorrow’s Cinco de Mayo. But then on a call with friends today, I learned you all don’t have chicken. So if that’s the case in your home, do save this recipe for whenever chicken is back on the market. In the meantime, try the tacos dorados if you have ground beef or turkey.

The original recipe calls for 12 Anaheim chiles. I usually use about 8, give or take depending on the size. Anaheim chiles are a mild hot pepper, but their heat can vary depending one where they are grown. For that reason, they may have different names at the grocery store. Anaheim chiles may also be called “California chiles”. They are the mild peppers. From New Mexico, they have more heat, and may be called “New Mexico chiles” or “Hatch chiles”. Sometimes they aren’t labeled well, and I’m honestly not sure whether I’m using the Anaheim/California or the New Mexico/Hatch. But they’re long and a light-greenish color. Here’s an article with photos and more information about various green chile peppers.

The recipe calls for either Suero de Sal or buttermilk. I have yet to plan well enough ahead to go to a Mercado Latino for the suero. Also, originally they fry the tortillas. I don’t do that. I brush both sides of the tortillas with a bit of oil (about 2-3 tbsp in all) place them on a baking sheet (overlapping a little is fine) and bake at 400°F for about 5 minutes until they’re soft and pliable. Then I place them in a tortilla warmer to hold the heat and keep them pliable as I stuff.

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Enchiladas Verdes con Pollo (Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas)

Course Dinner

Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

• 8-12 firm Anaheim long green chile peppers
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 quart Suero de Sal, whey or buttermilk can be used as a substitute, divided
• 2-3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 12 to 18 corn tortillas, preferably white corn
• 1 pound shredded rotisserie chicken, about 3 cups
• 1 ½ cups shredded Monterrey Jack or asadero cheese (or Mexican blend as you can see I used)
• ½ cup crema Mexicana or sour cream
• salt to taste
• water, if needed
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 to 3 ripe avocados, pitted and sliced

Instructions

Roast Chile Peppers:

1. Preheat broiler. Select firm, meaty peppers without wrinkles for roasting.
2. Rinse thoroughly.

3. Place peppers evenly in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.

4. Place under broiler on the top rack. Watch them closely as the skin will blister and turn black within minutes. Turn the peppers after 5 minutes to blister all sides evenly. When done, the pepper skins should be evenly blistered and mostly black.

5. Immediately cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil or a kitchen towel to build up steam. When cool, rub off the blackened skin, and discard the stem.

6. Adjust oven temperature to bake at 400°F.

Sauce:

1. In a blender combine the peppers, flour, and half of the suero or buttermilk and blend until creamy.
2. Pour mixture into a medium skillet and set over medium-low heat to warm. Add additional suero or buttermilk and stir. Taste and season with salt, usually about 2 teaspoons. If the sauce is too spicy, add ¼ cup of crema Mexicana or sour cream and stir. If the sauce is too thick, add water until desired consistency is reached.

Enchiladas:

1. Combine shredded chicken, diced onion, and 1 cup shredded cheese in a bowl.

2. Using 2-3 tbsp of oil, thoroughly brush both sides of each tortilla with oil. Arrange tortillas, overlapping, on a rimmed baking sheet (you may need to do 2 batches). Bake tortillas in 400°F oven until warm and pliable, about 5 minutes. Remove tortillas from the oven and keep warm.

3. Adjust oven to 350°F.

4. Spread 1 cup of the sauce in an ungreased 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
5. Fill each tortilla with about 3 tablespoons of shredded chicken, onion, and cheese mixture. Roll tortilla with filling, placing seam side down in the baking dish.
6. Pour 2 cups of the sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with more cheese and bake until warm, about 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of crema Mexicana or sour cream, green onions, and slices of avocados.

Notes

Source: slightly adapted from Muy Bueno Cookbook