Let me tell you, I hate cilantro. I think this is the first recipe I’ve ever made where I didn’t replace it with parsley. And that’s because this dish was so tasty that the cilantro didn’t bother me. Don’t get me wrong, the cilantro flavor is still there; it just works perfectly with the other flavors that it didn’t bother me at all.
Do you prefer the classic enchiladas or the green one??
Ingredients:
5-6 garlic cloves
5-6 tomatillos
1 tsp of cumin
About 18 corn tortillas
salt to taste
4 poblanos
1/2 tsp of oregano
2 cups of oaxacan cheese
1 bunch of cilantro
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 medium onion
2 chicken breast
Let’s get started!!!
Start by roasting the poblano peppers, tomatillo and garlic. Give the tomatillo and poblano peppers and good wash. Put them on a baking sheet and roast them in a 350 degrees F oven for about twenty minutes. In the meantime, start cooking the chicken breasts. In a pot or pan, add about 4-5 cups of water, about one tablespoon of salt (I am using ea salt), 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 3-4 bay leaves. Put the pan on medium heat and cook the chicken all the way through. Once the chicken has cooked through, using two forks, shred it. Strain the chicken stock and set aside for later use. You can bypass this step by using already cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken, just remember to buy chicken stock.
After the peppers and tomatillos are done roasting, let them cool down a bit before handling them. Take the seeds out of the peppers. Put the poblano peppers, tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, cumin, oregano, and chicken stock in a blender and blend until smooth. If you want more sauce, in terms of volume, you can add 1-1 1/2 cup of water to the blender, and a little bit more of the spices. Strain the sauce. Pour the strained sauce in a pot, and let it come to a simmer on low heat. When it starts simmering, pour in the heavy cream and mix it in well.
Cut the onion in julienne. In a large pan on low heat, cook the onions until they start to caramelized, while mixing them around for every three minutes. The whole process takes about fifteen minutes. When the onions are done, add in the shredded chicken and one ladle of the enchilada sauce. Mix them well together and let it cook for about three minutes. Shred the cheese while this is cooking.
In a pan, with some hot oil, on medium heat, fry the tortillas for ten seconds on each side. I used 18 tortillas for my baking pan.
Preheat the oven at 300 degrees F.
Next step is to assemble the enchiladas for baking. Using a large baking dish, ladle some of the enchilada sauce at the bottom. Take one tortilla, put in some of the chicken mixture, and some of the shredded cheese. Roll the tortilla on itself, wrapping the chicken inside, and tuck the ends at the bottom. Once the baking dish is filled with the stuffed tortillas, pour some of the enchilada sauce on top, while making sure that the sauce goes into the creases of each tortilla. After that, sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. I added a lot to mine. And lastly, pour on one ladle of the enchilada sauce on top of the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes in a 300 degrees F oven.
When serving, plate it with more of the enchilada sauce. Something I forgot to do.
Enjoy
Thank you for your time.