The enchiladas are without a doubt one of the most rooted dishes to the traditional Mexican cuisine. Each region has its own enchiladas recipe with local ingredients and that’s why more than 300 types of enchiladas can be counted, throughout Mexico.
– Is such the importance of the enchiladas that a fair specially dedicate to them has been created in Mexico city, to which every year hundreds of chefs attend to present their own version of the enchiladas.
This enchiladas recipe consists of fried tortillas bathed with red salsa, filled with chicken and garnished with cheese, cream, onion and lettuce. When you taste all these ingredients in one bite, you will know what a true delight is. However the best part of the enchiladas is that they have so much salsa that while eating them more salsa can be put in the enchiladas and the flavor is maximized.
But there is still more as the enchiladas dish can be accompanied with refried beans, red rice or white rice. Also the enchiladas’ salsa can be mixed with these garnishes and the combination of flavors is exquisite.
About the Recipe
To make the enchiladas many steps have to be followed and kitchen knowledge is required.
Give a very homemade flavor to the enchiladas by preparing your own corn tortillas.
The salsa that is used in the enchiladas is prepared with chilies that are not spicy. However if you want more hotness in your enchiladas use 1 seeded arbol pepper, at the moment of preparing the salsa.
In this recipes the tortillas are fried and it is very important to use vegetable oil because it resists high temperatures.
Total preparation time .
Recipe for 10 enchiladas.
Ingredients
2 Chicken Breasts (14.1 oz)
10 Corn Tortillas (7 oz)
4 Guajillo Peppers (1.4 oz)
2 Ancho Peppers (.7 oz)
2 Tomatoes (14.1 oz)
1/4 of a Lettuce (3.5 oz)
1 Onion (5.2 oz)
2 Garlic cloves (.2 oz)
1/2 cup of Mexican Cream (4.2 fl oz)
1/4 cup of crumbled Fresh Cheese (1.4 oz)
1 cup of Vegetable Oil (8.4 fl oz)
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
Pepper to taste
1¼ tablespoons of Salt
Cookware
2 Saucepans
1 Saucepan Lid
1 Frying Pan
1 Blender
1 Large Plate
1 Chopping Board
1 Tongs
1 Kitchen Spoon
1 Knife
4 Paper Towels
Directions
Cook the Chicken
Clean 2 chicken breasts and put them in a saucepan.
Also add in the saucepan:
1/2 Onion (2.6 oz).
1 Garlic clove (.1 oz).
The enough Water to cover the chicken breasts.
1 tablespoon of Salt.
Bring the saucepan water to a boil over high heat.
When it boils cover the saucepan and leave the chickencooking in the boiling water for about 20 minutes, until it is well cooked.
Make sure that the chicken is always covered with water because it will consume. If scum accumulates on the surface remove it.
While the Chicken is Ready... The Red Salsa
Remove the seeds of 2 ancho peppers and 4 guajillo peppers.
Put in another saucepan:
The 2 Ancho Peppers with the ones you worked.
The 4 Guajillo Peppers with the ones you worked.
2 Tomatoes.
The enough Water to cover all the ingredients.
Bring the saucepan water to a boil over high heat and leave the ingredients cooking in the boiling water for about 5 minutes, until the chilies soften.
Transfer from the saucepan to a blender, with a kitchen spoon, the chilies and the tomatoes that were cooked.
Mix the saucepan ingredients and bring the salsa to a boil over high heat.
When the salsa boils reduce to medium heat and cook it for about 4 minutes, until it thickens a little and acquires a more intense red color; stir occasionally. Then set aside.
Fry the Tortillas
Pour in a frying pan approximately 1 cup of vegetable oil, so you end up having about a 1/2’’ deep oil layer.
Heat the frying pan oil over high heat.
Take 1 maize tortilla with some tongs, dip it in the frying pan oil and fry it for about 7 seconds per each side, until it is lightly fried.
Don’t fry the tortilla for a long time because it will become tostada and it will no longer be useful ☹
Transfer from the frying pan to some paper towels, with the tongs, the tortilla that was fried so it dries and the fat excess is absorbed; then reserve.
Repeat the same procedure with 9 more tortillas, it won’t be necessary to add more vegetable oil in the frying pan.
All this procedure is done so the tortillas have more flavor.
20 minutes later...
Verify that the chicken that was left cooking is well cooked, its color must be white outside and inside; if not cook it for a longer time.
Take from the saucepan the chicken breasts with the kitchen spoon, wait until they cool a little and shred them; then set aside.
Don’t throw away the broth that was obtained from cooking the chicken because it is very tasty and you can use it to prepare a soup.
Cut 1/4 of a lettuce into strips and reserve.
Finely chop 1/4 of an onion (1.3 oz), then reserve.
Make the Red Enchiladas
Heat over medium heat the red salsa that was cooked for about 2 minutes, until it is very hot.
Take with the tongs one of the fried tortillas (that was put on the paper towels) and dip it in the red salsa that was heated.
Put on a large plate the fried tortilla with salsa and put over the tortilla some of the chicken that was shredded.
Roll the tortilla as taco or fold it as quesadilla; then set aside.
Repeat the same procedure with the other 9 fried tortillas. Upon completion if there is red salsa remaining pour it over the enchiladas.
Add over the red enchiladas with chicken the following ingredients:
1/2 cup of Mexican Cream.
The Onion that was minced.
1/4 cup of crumbled Fresh Cheese.
The Lettuce strips that were cut.
Preferably put the ingredients in the same order as given so the enchiladas come out perfect.
A Delight!
*You can also put avocado strips to these enchiladas, they give a very good flavor.
Variation: Feel the flavor difference when the enchiladas are prepared in its green version.
Prepare your enchiladas with some juicy, tender and delicious chicken breasts. The “Omaha Steaks Chicken Breasts” are all this and more...
Use “La Banderita Corn Tortillas” to make your enchiladas because they have very good flavor, they are soft and they don’t break at the moment of folding.
Here are the arbol peppers that are used to give hotness to the enchiladas.