The method explained in this post, will help you make your enchiladas successfully. When I started to learn how to cook, I remembered, I was so confused about what process to follow. Many enchiladas recipes tell you to bake them, but this will only give you a soggy casserole. I wanted those enchiladas covered with lots of salsa verde, Just like the ones from home.
I started to cook in 2007 when I started college here in the States. My first cooking adventure was chilaquiles verdes. It was a disaster 😂. I had no idea what to do first, how to boil the tomatillos, how to cut the tortillas 😅😂. I was completely clueless. But I was missing Mexico and my friend Sinthia and I really wanted some good food to remember home. So this post is for all of you that need some guidance making something basic and traditional from Mexico and need some help just like I needed when I was a freshman in college.
Now, after so many years and so many chilaquiles and enchiladas, I have mastered this Mexican staple. So, let me explain the basis of this Enchilada’s recipe.
The secret to great enchiladas is the salsa. You have to make it from scratch every time. The salsa for this recipe is blended with caramelized onions instead of raw onions to balance the acidity of the tomatillos and roasted poblano peppers to add depth.
Instead of boiling the onion along with the tomatillos, brown the onion to get that caramelization going and add some sweetness to the salsa. It is an extra step but it’s worth it.
Here is a photo of the poblanos getting some blisters in the broiler. This recipe calls for only 1 by the way, but I always broil more just to have it on my fridge ready for another recipe.
A few minutes after…
Then you put them in a bag to peel…
and then take the stem and seeds out…
You will be blending the browned onions, this poblano pepper, raw garlic, boiled tomatillos, jalapeños and a little bit of chicken broth…
It may look like many steps but a shortcut that you could do to simplify the whole process is to use rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own chicken, and use canned chicken broth. I’ve done this many times because life gets too busy and we need shortcuts!. They still have come out so good. The important ingredient here that cannot have shortcuts is the salsa. The salsa will guarantee you delicious enchiladas every time!
Tips:
- When boiling your chiles and tomatillos, add the jalapeño chiles first since they take longer to cook through.
- When adding the tomatillos and chiles to make the salsa, it is important to discard the water. You will be adding chicken broth instead. This will make your enchilada sauce more flavorful. The water from the boiled chiles would just water down the flavors, besides, the tomatillos have just enough water in them to blend.
- Don’t put your enchiladas in the oven to melt the cheese. Many recipes tell you to do this, but the truth is that the tortillas will absorb all the water and become soggy. Instead, place an oven rack close to te heat source of your broiler, turn it on to high and place your assembled enchiladas right under the heat source for only 5 minutes. They don’t need to be there longer. The salsa has been cooked and is ready to eat.
- If you don’t want to turn on your broiler, just place the enchiladas on a serving plate, pour the salsa all over and add the cheese. Place the plate in your microwave and then drizzle sour cream and cilantro.
Recipe
Ingredients
1 ½ lb of tomatillos (About 12)
3 jalapeño peppers (for a mild sauce). Leave the seeds and pith for a real kick, or add more peppers.
5 oz browned onions (1/2 onion)
1 garlic clove
1 poblano pepper, roasted and peeled.
cilantro bunch
1/2 cup chicken broth.
sour cream
swiss or monterrey jack cheese
1 ½ lb cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works well)
corn tortillas
1 tsp salt
Procedure
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil and add the jalapeños first. Once 5 minutes have passed, add the tomatillos. Let them boil until they turn pale green but haven’t burst out.
While the tomatillos and chiles are cooking, place 1 poblano chile in the broiler on a baking sheet. Set the timer and let the heat blister the skin of the poblano for 4 minutes per side. Place the chile poblano in a plastic bag right after the broiler and let them sweat a bit.
With a slotted spoon, take the tomatillos and chiles out of the water and put them in the blender. Don’t not blend yet. Discard the water and place that same saucepan back in the stovetop. Add some oil and start browning the diced onions until golden brown. Move the onions around consistently in order to achieve an even caramelization. Once the onions are browned and sweet, add them to your blender.
Peel the poblano and take the stem and seeds out.
Now, it’s time to make the salsa. Add the poblano to the blender, 1 garlic clove (raw), 1 tsp of salt, and 1/2 cup of low sodium chicken broth into the blender along with the tomatillos, jalapeños and the browned onions you added at the beginning.
Put the salsa back into the same saucepan, and let it simmer for 5 minutes with a lid on. Make sure the heat is on low. Taste and add more salt if you want.
You can do all the steps above beforehand and have your salsa ready when needed.
To assemble the enchiladas:
In a big cast iron skillet or an oven safe skillet, add some oil and slightly fry each tortilla on both sides. Take them out and place them on a plate and reserve. Fry about 10 tortillas. I specify a big skillet so you can fit two tortillas at a time while frying, also you will be using this same skillet later on to “bathe” the enchiladas with the sauce and to melt the cheese in your broiler.
Use a plate or a board to stuff your fried tortillas with the chicken and a little salsa and roll them over. Place the enchilada in the same cast iron skillet. Make sure you skillet is not hot, we don’t want the salsa to evaporate and dry out. The skillet should be cold or warm. Accommodate the enchiladas in the skillet and pour the salsa all over. Place Swiss cheese, monterrey jack or other melting cheese over the enchiladas and place the skillet under the broiler for 5 minutes only. The direct heat of the broiler will melt the cheese and make it look brown and yummy.
Take it out and drizzle some sour cream over and cilantro.
To make the sour cream more liquid, simply combine with a little milk and a pinch of salt and whisk.
Enjoy!
