The sauce in this Enchilada dish is a lovely blend of mild poblano peppers and fresh spinach, with chicken broth and milk. I adapted this recipe by making my own chicken broth, and reserving the chicken for the enchiladas, but you can use a rotisserie chicken if you wish. The sauce can easily be made the day before and then assembled to bake the following day. Delicious!
Course main, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 1 hourhour
Cook Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 2 hourshours
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net
Ingredients
If making your own chicken and broth:
1Tablespoonchili powder
2tsp.ground cumin
6-8peppercorns
2Bay leaves
2garlic cloves
For the sauce (can be made a day ahead):
3poblano chilescharred peeled and roughly chopped
1cup cilantroroughly chopped, optional
1cupfresh spinach leavesroughly chopped; frozen is not recommended
2cupsmilk
2cupschicken brothyou can use store-bought
6tablespoonsbutter
3garlic clovesfinely minced
juice of 1/2 limeoptional
1/2cupflour
salt
For the enchiladas:
6-8chicken thighsbone-in or 3 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (you can use a rotisserie chicken)
12corn tortillas
A little vegetable oil for brushing or spraying
1cupMexican melting cheeseChihuahua, quesadilla, asadero, Monterey Jack, or mild cheddar-- or a combination
cilantro and/or sour cream for garnish
Instructions
For the homemade chicken broth (optional): This can be made up to a few days ahead, if you wish.
In a pot, add the chicken, chili powder, cumin, garlic cloves, Bay leaves and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 1-1/2 hours. Likewise, you can speed up this process if you have a pressure cooker. I use my Instant Pot for 20 minutes of pressure, then a natural pressure release. Remove the chicken, remove skin and shred with a fork; set aside.
Strain the chicken broth and toss away the aromatics.
For the sauce:
Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler. NOTE: I put my peppers in a cast-iron skillet. Turn regularly, until the skins have blistered and blackened on all sides, about 5 minutes for an open flame, about 10 minutes under the broiler. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for at least 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, rub off the blackened skin, tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem. Quickly rinse to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin. Roughly chop set aside.
In a blender, add the peppers, spinach and cilantro (if using) to a blender (or food processor).
In a medium saucepan, combine the milk and broth, set over medium-low heat to warm.
In a large (4quart) saucepan, melt butter (or heat the oil) over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for a minute to release its aroma, then add flour and stir the mixture for a minute.
Raise the heat to medium-high. Pour in the warm broth mixture and whisk constantly until the sauce boils. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Carefully, pour half the hot sauce into the blender with the chiles and spinach. Cover loosely and blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining sauce. Taste and season well with salt, usually about 2 teaspoons. If desired, add the lime juice for some bright acidity-- which is what I did.
Finishing the enchiladas:
Smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13×9 inch baking dish.
Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the chicken.
Next, lay half of the tortillas (six) on top of the sauce that you added to the 13 x9 baking dish (NOTE: I would dip each corn tortilla in the remaining sauce to pre-soften them.)
Lay all of the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas making sure to spread the chicken in an even layer on top of the tortillas.
Finally, layer the remaining six tortillas on top of the chicken and cover the tortillas with the remaining sauce (this will seems like a lot of sauce but the enchiladas really absorb it well so go ahead and use it all).
Top the sauce with the shredded cheese and place in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown.
Notes
Recipe source: Adapted from Rick Bayless, Cafe Tacumba-Style Creamy Chicken Enchiladas