Ingredients
Sauce
- 6guajillo chillies
- 3ancho chillies
- 2tomatoes
- ½onion
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspdried oregano
- 500 mlchicken stock
- 2 tbsplard
- salt
Filling
- 18corn tortillas
- 500 gcooked chicken, shredded
- oil, for dipping
To finish
- 200 gqueso fresco or Oaxaca cheese
- 1onion, thinly sliced
- crema
- coriander
Directions
- Toast the dried chillies in a dry pan for about 30 seconds a side, until they smell fragrant and just begin to blister.
- Do not let them blacken. A scorched chilli turns the whole sauce bitter and it is the fastest way to ruin the dish.
- Soak them in hot water for 20 minutes, then blend with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and stock, and strain the sauce.
- Fry the strained sauce in the lard for 10 minutes, until it darkens and thickens noticeably.
- Warm the tortillas, then pass each one briefly through hot oil, a few seconds a side.
- That quick pass through oil is what stops the tortilla dissolving in the sauce. It is the step home cooks skip and precisely why their enchiladas turn to mush.
- Dip each fried tortilla into the warm sauce to coat it completely.
- Lay a line of shredded chicken along the middle, roll it up, and set it seam side down in a dish.
- Pour the remaining sauce over, scatter with cheese, and bake at 180°C (355°F) for 15 minutes only.
- Do not bake them longer. Everything in the dish is already cooked and the oven is only there to melt the cheese; another twenty minutes and the rolls collapse.
- Serve immediately with sliced raw onion, crema and coriander.
- Tortillas dipped in chilli sauce predate the conquest, and the modern recipe appears in the 1831 cookbook El cocinero mexicano.
Technique
- Corn tortillas, not wheat. Wheat goes gluey in sauce and is not what the dish is.
- Serve them straight away rather than holding them. Enchiladas have a window of about ten minutes.
- Straining the sauce is worth the trouble. Dried chilli skins never fully break down and they leave the sauce gritty.
Substitutions
- Oil in place of lard for frying the sauce.
- Shredded beef, cheese alone, or beans in place of chicken.
Variations
- Enchiladas verdes, made with a tomatillo sauce.
- Enchiladas suizas, baked under cream and melted cheese.
- Enmoladas, dipped in mole rather than chilli sauce.
History
Tortillas dipped in chili sauce predate the conquest; the modern recipe appears in the 1831 cookbook El cocinero mexicano.
Frequently asked questions
What is Enchiladas?
Enchiladas is a main from Mexico: rolled tortillas bathed in chile sauce with cheese and chicken. Tortillas dipped in chili sauce predate the conquest; the modern recipe appears in the 1831 cookbook El cocinero mexicano.
How long does Enchiladas take to make?
Enchiladas takes 40 min of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Enchiladas?
Yes, within limits. Oil in place of lard for frying the sauce. Shredded beef, cheese alone, or beans in place of chicken.
What is the most important thing to get right in Enchiladas?
Do not let them blacken. A scorched chilli turns the whole sauce bitter and it is the fastest way to ruin the dish.
