Authentic Mexican Enchiladas Recipes

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN ENCHILADAS VERDES

Steps:

• Prepare sauce: Heat water in large pot to boiling.
• Add tomatillos, 2 onion halves, 6 garlic cloves, and 7 serrano chiles.
• Simmer uncovered 30 minutes.
• Let cool slightly, then drain, reserving about 1 cup cooking liquid.
• Place solids in blender or food processor.
• Add remaining onion half, 4 garlic cloves, 3 chiles, the cilantro, and about 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
• Process until smooth.
• Heat oil in medium saucepan.
• Add onion slices and saute until lightly browned.
• Stir in sauce and season with salt.
• Simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, about 30- 45 minutes.
• If sauce thickens too much, thin it with remaining cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, when the sauce ingredients are simmering, prepare stuffing.
• Heat 2 qt water in large pot to boiling.
• Add chicken, onion, garlic, and salt to taste.
• Simmer just until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.
• Let cool, then remove chicken from liquid.
• Remove and discard skin and bones; shred meat.
• Prepare tortillas: When the sauce is nearly ready and the stuffing is ready, heat small amount of oil in skillet over medium heat.
• Cook tortillas one at a time, turning once, just until flexible but not crisp, about 20 seconds each.
• Drain on a thick layer of paper towels wrapped up inside a clean cloth kitchen towel (or tortilla warmer).
• This will drain them and keep them soft and warm.
• Heat oven to 3500°F.
• Coat two 13x9 baking pans with vegetable oil.
• Dip each tortilla in sauce.
• Fill tortillas with shredded chicken and roll up.
• Arrange a dozen filled tortillas in each pan.
• Top with green sauce.
• Spoon creme fraiche (or sour cream) over sauce.
• Sprinkle chopped onion and cilantro over the top.
• Sprinkle cheese over all.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Broil briefly if the top needs some browning.
• Serve hot with refried beans.
• Note:.
• To freeze: Prepare recipe through step 26. Place rolled enchiladas on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer to a freezer bag. Seal, label and freeze. Place sauce in a second freezer bag and place both bags in a larger bag. Seal and freeze.
• To serve: Thaw in fridge overnight. Complete assembly and bake as directed in recipe.

AUTHENTIC BEEF ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• In a medium size mixing bowl, add shredded beef and diced onions, mix well and set aside.
• In a medium size sauce pan, add the oil, flour, and chili powder. Turn to medium heat and whisk the ingredients together.
• Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to boil for one minute, then whisk in the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmering boil it will begin to thicken slightly after about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Add salt to taste and 1/4 teaspoon sugar, mix to combine and then add about 1/4 cup of sauce to the shredded beef mixture and stir to combine. Set aside remaining sauce for enchiladas.
• In a small size skillet, add oil to medium-high heat. Gently add one tortilla at a time and fry to a semi soft stage. Dab each tortilla with paper towels to remove excess oil.
• As each tortilla is fried and dabbed with paper towels, stack them to keep them soft for rolling.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray with a nonstick cooking spray a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.
• Lay (one at a time) fried tortilla on a flat surface, add about 2 tablespoons shredded beef mixture to the middle of the fried tortilla and top with about 1 teaspoon shredded cheese.
• Roll the tortilla tightly and place in the baking dish (seam side down). Repeat until all 12 tortillas are filled. (For best results, line the enchiladas into two rows of 6).
• Pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the filled tortillas, and then add remaining shredded cheese evenly to the top of the sauce and top with the sliced olives.
• Cover baking dish with foil and bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and hot. Serve with sour cream, optional.
• Makes: 6 servings.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Coat large saute pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.
• Saute onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, saute 1 minute.
• Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to saute pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.
• Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.
• Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put the tomatillos, onion, serrano, yellow chile and 3/4 cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and boil until the tomatillos turn olive-green color, about 10 minutes. Transfer the tomatillos, onion and chiles to a blender. Add the garlic and cilantro and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the tortillas until golden but still pliable, about 10 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Put the tortillas on a work surface. Divide the shredded chicken evenly among the tortillas and roll up each like a cigar. Spread 1/3 cup sauce in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the enchiladas, seam-side down, in one layer snugly inside the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas.
• Drizzle with the Mexican crema and sprinkle the cheese all over. Bake until the cheese melts and starts to brown in spots, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Snap the tops off of the dried chilies, and place in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the water, and place chilies into a food processor or blender with the garlic and salt. Puree until smooth. Press sauce through a strainer, and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Soak each tortilla in the sauce, then place in the hot oil. Turn over almost immediately, and fry for about 5 seconds on the other side. Remove to a plate that is lined with paper towels. The easiest way to do this is to fry the tortillas and stack them directly on top of each other until you have fried them all. This will keep the tortillas pliable until you are ready to fill them.
• Take one fried tortilla at a time, and fill with about 2 tablespoons of the queso fresco. Roll up, and place seam side down on a plate. Place three of these on each plate. Top in the following order: Start with a layer of sour cream, then a small handful of lettuce, three tomato slices, 2 more tablespoons of queso fresco, and finally, 1 tablespoon of green onions.