Enchiladas

There are many variations of enchiladas. Basically they are made by rolling a mixture of meat and cheese in a flour tortilla and baking in the oven. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Enchilada sauce

For pre-made sauces, the best ones are those you find in a can. I have not had a lot of luck with the packages of sauce that you mix with water. They are usually way too salty. Here is a recipe for a sauce you can make from scratch. If you don’t have a blender or food processor, I would mash the peppers and onion a bit with a mortar and pestle before adding the tomato juice.

1 cup chopped green chill peppers
3 cups tomato juice
1 medium sized onion
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt to taste

Saute the onions until soft along with all spices and green chilies. Add juice and simmer 15 minutes.

If you have a blender, pour the mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.

You can substitute jalapeños or red chilies for the green chilli peppers. Your tolerance for hot peppers will determine which one and how much you want to use! The important thing about enchilada sauce is that it should have a strong, but not overpowering, cumin taste.

Enchiladas

This is my recipe and technique that has evolved over the years. It can be varied in many ways but the basic procedure is pretty straight forward.

6 soft flour tortillas
1 cup enchilada sauce
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 Tbsp of finely chopped onion
6 Tbsp finely chopped chillies (optional)
1 cup refried beans (optional)
cooked chicken, beef, or pork cut into bite sized pieces or shredded. (The pieces have to be small enough that they can easily be rolled up in a tortilla.)

Pour 1/4 cup enchilada sauce into a large skillet that has a diameter at least as large as your tortillas and gently heat the sauce until it is lukewarm.

Take one tortilla and place in the skillet to cover it with sauce. Carefully remove the tortilla, letting any excess sauce drain  back into the skillet.

Place the tortilla on a large plate and spread 1 – 2 Tbsp of refried beans across the middle.

Add 1 Tbsp of chopped onion, 1 Tbsp of chopped peppers, 1 – 2 Tbsp of meat and 1-2 Tbsp of grated cheese. Roll the tortilla up halfway, fold in the ends, and roll the rest of the way.  Place aside and repeat with the other tortillas.

Pour enough enchilada sauce into a baking pan to cover the bottom. If you are making them on the stovetop, you can just use the original skillet and add a little more sauce, if necessary.

Place the 6 rolled-up tortillas in the pan or skillet. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle grated cheese on the top.

For the oven: Cover and bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes until the cheese on top begins to melt.

Stovetop: Cover and cook over very low heat until the cheese on the top begins to melt.

Remove the cooked tortillas from the skillet or pan using a couple of spatulas and serve with a green salad or rice.

You can also sprinkle cilantro over the enchiladas when served and/or dab with sour cream if you can find it!

You can find more great Mexican recipes here with many more details and photos.