It seems a bit silly to make Mexican food at home in LA when there are so many fantastic restaurants here devoted to that particular cuisine. I have a favorite taco truck but this is the recipe that I trot out instinctively when I have Mexican food cravings. Guests are always very impressed with the dish which is always an added bonus; it looks labor intensive but - though there are a lot of steps - it is actually a very simple dish. Because I think it is stupid to fill and roll anything that is essentially going to be served in casserole form, I layer my tortillas and sauce to save time during assembly. One guest last night referred to the dish as my "Mexican lasagna".
I like to double the salsa verde recipe when I make these enchiladas though I have not in the recipe below which is just enough for the enchilada dish. This salsa tastes fantastic on poached fish or grilled chicken, can be used as a dip with tortillas and, when I have it around, I add spoonsful (or spoonfuls; I checked and both are correct) of it to various things from scrambled eggs to bruschetta with mozzarella.
Most people add about 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro to their salsa verde (feel free to incorporate it into the recipe below) but I prefer to serve cilantro as a topping. I like my salsa verde less herbacious than it would taste with added cilantro and I know lots of people who feel very strongly about never tasting it at all if possible.
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Enough water to cover chicken, about 3 cups
¼ cup heavy cream
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
4 large poblano chiles
2½ pounds tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
2 serrano chiles
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt, to taste
Tortillas, corn or flour based on personal preference. I use a white corn tortilla that has some whole wheat mixed into the dough
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Cotija cheese, crumbled
Crema or sour cream
Cilantro leaves, whole removed from the stems
Radishes, thinly sliced
Jalapeno, thinly sliced
Place the chicken, 1/2 of the onion and all the garlic in a large saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the chicken. Salt generously. Cover and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool, still covered.
While the chicken is cooking, place the poblano chilis, the serrano chilis, the tomatillos and the remaining 1/2 onion on a foil lined baking sheet. Place under the broiler for 5 minutes. Flip all the ingredients and broil for 5 more minutes. Turn off the broiler and let the ingredients cool in the oven.
Purée the broiled ingedients in the blender. Add the cumin and salt to taste. Set aside. This should make about 4 cups of salsa verde.
When the chicken is cool remove it from the poaching liquid and place it in a large bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup of the poaching liquid for use in the enchiladas. Strain the rest and use in soup or freeze to use later in whatever recipe requires chicken stock.
Using either 2 forks or your hands, shred the chicken well. Add the cream, the Monterey Jack cheese and 2 cups of the salsa verde. Taste and add a bit more cream if the mixture is too spicy for you.
Put 1 cup of salsa verde in the bottom of an oven-proof dish. Brush each tortilla on both sides with a little of the reserved poaching liquid and tear them into uneven pieces. Layer the equivalent of 2 whole tortillas on top of the salsa verde. Add 1/4 of the chicken mixture. Add another layer of 2 torn tortillas. Continue to do this until you have used up all the chicken mixture - it should form the top layer of your enchilada dish. You can make the dish up until this point the day before you need it.
Preheat the oven to 350. Pour the remaining salsa verde over the top of the dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
While the dish is baking, mix the thinly sliced red onion with the red vinegar. Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes and drain right before serving.
Remove the enchiladas from the oven. Serve with little bowls of pickled red onion, Cotija, crema, cilantro leaves, radish rounds and thinly sliced Jalapeno so that people can pick the toppings that they prefer. I happen to think that a little bit of everything makes for the best dinner.
Original recipe, here.
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