Enchilada Throwdown

please excuse the unattractive photo - enchiladas are not photogenic


Tonight we battled it out with enchiladas! I'm not big on Mexican food but I've always enjoyed eating enchiladas. Token's wife chose the theme for tonight so we faced off with two different kinds. Well, technically there was actually three. I made a roasted tomatillo salsa verde version and she made two different kinds - a similar sauce as mine and a more traditional one using a red sauce. Needless to say we had a ridiculous amount of food.

Our throwdown's have become a lot tamer now - no more trash talking or voting. Now it's more of a relaxing night to wine an dine and pack on a few pounds together. The enchiladas were well received and Token's wife made individual pumpkin mousses for dessert. They were delicious and put us into the ultimate food coma. Everyone felt a bit guilty after all the "healthy" food was consumed since we were watching a boxing fight on TV. Do you think they eat enchiladas for endurance while training? Oh well, we
must have burned a few calories through osmosis watching them jump around beating each other to an utter pulp, right?


Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa
4 to 5 servings
Adapted from Tyler Florence


Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
  • 1 pound tomatillos, husked
  • 1 white onion, peeled, and quartered
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 jalapenos, stemmed and deseeded
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:

  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • Chopped cilantro leaves
  • 1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded*
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 corn tortillas
  • 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
  • Guacamole, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa:

On a baking tray, roast tomatillos (whole), onion, garlic and jalapenos for 20 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky. (If you would like to serve more salsa on the side, double the recipe)

Enchiladas:

Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a thick gravy sauce. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Serve hot with Spicy Black Beans and Yellow Rice, the remaining tomatillo salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole, if desired.

*I poached 1 lb of skinless boneless chicken breasts instead. To poach the breasts you put them in one layer in a sauce pan. Cover them with water until just barely covered. Bring water to a boil. Then as soon as water boils, take it off the heat, put a lid on it and let it sit for about 15 minutes depending on how large your chickens are.

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