Green with En...chiladas - Enchiladas Suizas
I am such a fan of enchiladas, in fact, my very first recipe post was a recipe for enchiladas. I’m fairly certain that those enchiladas were responsible for winning my fiancé’s heart. Well, maybe that and my big booty. I’m sure he’s aware of my other, more important, qualities. (Wait, did I just write the start to my wedding vows??)
This enchilada variation is for Enchiladas Suizas (Swiss-style), they are topped with a tomatillo and cream-based sauce. This is what Wikipedia has to say: This appellation is derived from Swiss immigrants to Mexico who established dairies to produce cream and cheese. Well, there you go!
Enchiladas Suizas
Serves 4-5
Ingredients
Filling:
2 cups of Shredded chicken
or
2 cups of crumbled queso fresco
Sauce:
1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
1 medium white onion, sliced thick
3 garlic cloves
3 serranos, stems removed
Canola oil
2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups of water + 2tbs chicken bouillon)
1/2 cup Mexican crema (or creme fraiche)
Salt and pepper
12-16 corn tortillas
1 cup Oaxaca, Chihuahua, or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
Chopped cilantro, avocados, red onions for topping
Directions
Preheat oven to 475F
Place tomatillos, onions (separated and evenly distributed), garlic, and serranos on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and place in oven. Roast in oven for about 8-10 minutes, flipping half way through. Remove the garlic about 5 minutes in if it starts to burn. A little char is good! Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat in oven to 400 degrees.
Transfer all roasted veggies to a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful when blending hot ingredients, as the lid of the blender will want to pop open.
Pour about 1 tablespoon of canola oil into a large pot over medium-high heat until hot. Pour the pureed veggies from the blender into the oil. It should immediately start to sizzle. Cook, stirring often until the mixture darkens, about three minutes. Pour in broth (or water+bouillon) and Mexican crema, turn heat to medium-low, and stir until mixture is smooth. Add salt to taste. Partially cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste if needed.
While the sauce cooks, in a medium pan (nonstick, if you have one), heat ½ cup of oil on medium-high until hot. One at a time, carefully place corn tortilla into oil for about 5 seconds on each side, remove from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate. The tortillas tend to puff up in the oil, so be careful when you flip them.
Place the tortillas on a clean, dry work surface. Spread about ⅓ cup of the sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. Divide the chicken and/or queso fresco between the tortillas and tightly roll up each tortilla around the filling. Carefully transfer the rolled tortillas to the baking dish in a single layer, seam sides down.
Pour remaining sauce over them, and then sprinkle cheese evenly on top.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned and heated through. Remove from the oven and let stand for at least 2 minutes. Garnish with desired toppings. Serve with lime wedges on the side, if you’d like.
I love serving these with a simple and buttery Mexican-style white rice (I’ll share that recipe soon!).
