Article written by Alex Rocklin and Rachel Wallis
The nice thing about living in the Chiapas Peace House is that every
new person brings something exciting with them into the house. Our
current volunteer, Sarah, has not only brought her green thumb to our
sorely neglected garden, but has also given us the gift of enchiladas.
Enchiladas are a filling, savory, satisfying meal, which more or less
occupies the same food niche as lasagna, and other starchy, cheesy,
tomato-y foods. Their preparation is a little involved, so they're a
food best cooked with a couple of extra hands around to help with the
dipping, stuffing and rolling. They're also good cold, for breakfast
the next morning. We love them. The first step to enchilada preparation is making the sauce. If you're a little pressed for time or energy you can use a pre-made enchilada sauce from a jar. We promise we won't look down on you. Honestly, sometimes we would too, except that you can't find them here in San Cristóbal. If you're an enchilada purist, however, or just have some time on your hands, here is a recipe for delicious ancho chili enchilada sauce:
8 ancho Chilies, stemmed and seeded (these are the big, flat, dark red dried chilies)
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
5 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons salt
6 grinds black pepper
4 cups water
Put the chilies, garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper and water in a big pot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium, and leave uncovered, simmering, for about a half an hour. After 30 minutes, remove it from the heat, and let it cool for a bit. Next, pour the sauce into a blender or food processor (probably in a couple of batches) and puree. Finally, pass the sauce through a strainer to catch the tough chili bits and you've got your enchilada sauce.
Now the fun begins! For your enchiladas you're going to need
Corn tortillas (probably about four per person, or more if you want leftovers)
Cheese of your choosing, shredded -We use queso manchego and queso de oaxaca, but you can probably use Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Mozzarella, or really any cheese your little heart desires.
Canola or vegetable oil
Enchilada filling- this filling is limited only by your imagination. We put sautéed chard and diced onions in ours, and it was delicious. You could really use any combination of stir-fried veggies. Another possibility would be pieces of shredded chicken (I would probably cook the chicken first. I'm not sure how thoroughly it would get cooked otherwise).
The key to making enchiladas is setting up a well-organized enchilada assembly line in your kitchen. Start by putting about a quarter inch of oil in a frying pan and setting it over a medium flame. Give your oil about five minutes to heat up or your tortillas will be really oily. To your left you will want your uncooked tortillas, and to your right, a plate with something on it to soak up the grease. This can be paper towels, but I find that brown paper grocery bags work really well in this capacity.
On another surface near by, you want to set up your assembly line. The first station should be a plate with a large pool of enchilada sauce in it, the second will be your cheese and filling station, and the third will be whatever you are going to bake the enchiladas in, with a layer of sauce already at the bottom. A thick, glass, baking dish works nicely for the purpose.
Each tortilla should make its way through the process, first lightly fried for two or three seconds on either side, then patted dry to remove excess oil. Next the tortillas is dipped in the plate of sauce so that each side is saucy. Fill it with a nice amount of cheese and veggies, and then role it over so the two edges overlap, and place seam side down in the baking dish. Continue packing the enchiladas next to each other in the dish, and when one layer is full, pour a little sauce over the top, and sprinkle on some cheese before putting down a new layer. The key is to work swiftly and efficiently so the enchiladas don't get soggy.
When the dish is full or you've run out of ingredients, put the baking dish into an oven heated to 350° and bake until you can see that the cheese is melt-y and a little brown and bubbly on top. Probably around 5 minutes. You can serve them as is or with shredded lettuce, tomato and avocado slices, and sliced raw onions on top. Don't worry if you can't get the individual enchiladas out in one piece, they're just as good if you have to slice through them.
Buen Provecho!
