Mexican Enchiladas
A traditional Mexican dish usually made using red chili sauce, sometimes it is made with green sauce. Below is how I grew up having them.
What you need
1/3 of a white onion *optional
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 tablespoon of salt
1 bag of “chili PUYA” see picture for reference
Olive oil
Mozzarella shredded cheese (I use part skim-low moisture)
Corn Tortillas 6-7 will serve about 2-3ppl (Guerrero brand are great)
Avocado + Sour cream *both optional
Getting started
Cut the head of the chilies. Using a knife, put it through the hole where the Chili head was and take the seeds out from the inside. Do this to all the chilies you are going to use. I used up 85% of the bag. This will be your sauce so keep that in mind when trying to decide how many you are going to use.
Once you have done this to all the chilies you plan to use, fill a pot like shown in the picture above with a little over half of water and put the chilies in there. Let the pot boil until the chilies become soft and start changing color (about 15mins). Turn the pot off. In a blender add 1/2 the tablespoon of salt and the garlic. Next, add the chilies from the pot into the blender using a large spoon. You will notice there is water left over in the pot. I add a small teacup worth of that water into the blender, it’s what gives the chili some water base vs just thick sauce. If you don’t want it to be too spicy add a little bit more BUT be careful not to add too much because it’ll become too watery. Once that’s done blend until all the chili is chopped and turn into “Salsa”. I put my blender on “chopped” and “salsa” for a total of 2 mins. Once this is done, taste the chili to make sure it isn’t missing any salt. It should have a kick to it and not just taste like chili in water. If it needs more salt add a little more you don’t want to make it too salty. Next, pour on a bowl and set aside.
Next pour some olive oil in a skillet. When trying to determine how much oil keep in mind the tortillas need to fry in it, you want to pour enough oil so they can soak in. (See picture above)Put the heat at medium and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Next put the pot of chili you set aside on the burner next to your skillet with oil but don’t turn it on, just let it sit there. Grabbing one tortilla at a time, lay it in the oil, allow it to fry for a minute on each side then pull it out using a fork. Next, take that same tortilla and dip it in the chili. It’s very important you don’t let it soak in there too long because the tortilla will get too soggy and tear. You want to just dip the tortilla in the chili so that it’s covered in chili. Once that’s done, put the tortilla on the plate, lay it flat and sprinkle cheese and desired onion on top. You will do this for every tortilla you want to serve and lay one top of another, like pancakes (see picture for reference). I personally use 3 per plate I serve.
Don’t let it sit for too long, I serve mine immediately because the cheese is melting and you want it to be hot. I serve mine with a slice of avocado per plate and reduced-fat sour cream on top. If you don’t like any of that feel free to skip. I also make beans and rice to accompany the dish like you see in the pictures.
Enjoy!