Mandarine: Stacked Creamy Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce is one of my favourite comfort foods. I find it’s great to make more than I need for one meal, as it’s easy to reheat portions quickly for a quick comfort fix during the week.

In this month’s Daring Cooks challenge we were asked to make Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas using homemade corn tortillas and homemade green chile sauce.

I am using a recipe for Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce and homemade corn tortillas which I’ve cooked many times before and which I love. The original recipe is found here: thatsmyhome - Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce.

The thatsmyhome recipe suggests using: (2 cans or jars (4.5 ounces each) chopped green chiles (undrained) ). In keeping with the challenge, this time I substituted fresh medium local green chiles, which I then roasted under the griller – much better! I also stacked rather than rolled them and doubled the cumin. I always like to make the corn tortillas too as I think they taste much better than store bought (ha ha - I can hardly ever find them available to buy where I live anyway, only the wheat ones). I buy masa harina at my local Indian ingredient supplier This is my amended recipe:

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce

1 T. butter
3/4 C. chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 T. flour
1 1/2 C. chicken stock or broth
8–10 fresh medium sized (medium heat) green chiles
vegetable oil for softening tortillas
12 corn tortillas (see recipe below)
500g (2 C.) boneless chicken thighs
2 C. cheddar cheese (or monterey jack), grated
1 C. cream
1/3 C. sliced shallots (green onions)
1/2 C. sliced green olives
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Avocado and chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), to serve

Method
Prepare the fresh corn tortillas (recipe below).

Cut chicken thighs into smallish pieces. Coat in vegetable oil, brown and cook on ridge grill plate or frypan, until cooked through (or you can steam them). Shred or cut into even smaller pieces.

Coat green chiles in vegetable oil, put onto foil-lined griller tray and place under grill (broiler). Turn them every few minutes. They should be black and blistered.
As they are completely charred (they will probably not all be done at once), remove them to a bowl and cover with plastic, or close up in a paper bag. Let them rest until they are cool. Pull on the stem and the seed core MAY pop out . Open the chile and remove the seeds. Turn the chile skin side up and with a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Sometimes it just pulls right off, sometimes you really have to scrape it. DO NOT RINSE! Slice.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion until transparent. Stir in garlic, salt and cumin. Stir in flour until well combined. Slowly stir in stock/broth. Add chiles and stir well. Reduce heat to simmer; cook, uncovered, about 15 minutes. (Sauce can be prepared to this point, cooled and refrigerated 24 hours in advance.)

In a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Dip the edge of a tortilla into the oil to check – it should sizzle immediately. Using tongs, put a tortilla into the pan and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, about 15-20 seconds per side (at the most). Drain on paper towels. Stack on a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

To assemble, place tortillas side by side to cover base of shallow 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Combine chicken and 1/2 cup of the green chile sauce. Place 2 tablespoons chicken mixture and 2 tablespoons cheese on each tortilla. Cover each with another tortilla. Pour remaining sauce over the top of each; then pour cream evenly over entire mixture and top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle with the shallots and green olives. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven or under griller (broiler) for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes, fresh coriander (cilantro) and sliced avocado, and serve.
Makes 6 servings.

Corn Tortillas

Corn Tortillas (from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen)
Makes about 15

1 3/4 cups masa harina (a maize corn meal found at mexican or international ingredient suppliers - it is specially treated with lime – do not use normal cornflour or polenta)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons hot water

Method

Pour hot water over masa harina, cover and let sit 30 minutes. Add (additional) cool water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft but not sticky. Divide the dough into 15 balls and cover with plastic wrap.

Heat a large (two burner) ungreased griddle or two large skillets, one on medium-low and one on medium-high.

Put a ball of dough between two sheets of plastic (I use two sheets of baking paper and I flatten with a rolling pin). If you don’t have a tortilla press, press to a 5-6” circle using a heavy frying pan or bread board or other heavy, flat object. Put the tortilla into the cooler pan or cooler end of the griddle. The tortilla will probably stick, but within 15 seconds, if the temperature is correct, it will release. Flip it at that point onto the hotter skillet/griddle section. In 30-45 seconds, it should be dotted with brown underneath. Flip it over, still on the hot surface and brown another 30 seconds or so. A good tortilla will balloon up at this point. Remove from heat and let them rest while cooking the remaining tortillas. Use quickly.

These youtube videos show tortillas being made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDegTyqL55o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm6_iAZ-CCA&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFn3GKVLHnM&NR=1
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_corn_tortillas/

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

PS: If ever I can source tomatillos I will in the future make the far more authentic Green Chile Sauce suggested in the challenge. If you’d like the recipe it’s here: Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas and Green Chile Sauce. The recipe uses fresh tomatillos, charred fresh anaheim chiles, and monterey jack cheese.