Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano Chile Sauce.

Mexican cuisines has some superb variety of flavor rich dishes from  Enchilada’s, Taco’s ,Tostadas to more exotic dishes like Huachinango( Red Snapper) and Poc Chuc which are commonly available on the menus. Authentic Mexican food is known for its intense flavors, colorful presentation, unique spicing and seasoning. Here’s my attempt to re-create textures and flavors of most common Mexican dish: Chicken  Enchiladas with Roasted Poblano chile sauce. This recipe is bit time and labor intensive for the first time you make it, but it's certainly worth the effort!

Ingredients:

Roasted Poblano Chile sauce

15 oz can of crushed Tomatoes
6 oz can of Tomato sauce

1/2 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves
3/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
3 poblano chiles, charred, seeded, and peeled
1 corn tortilla, lightly toasted and cut into small pieces
2 cups chicken stock
1 small bunch cilantro (coriander), stems removed
2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

½  ground cumin powder
1/4 tsp black pepper


Cooked Chicken 

2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 white onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon oregano

Enchiladas

Olive oil
8 corn tortillas
1 medium white onion, chopped
6 ounces mild cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Directions:

Cooked Chicken

1.  Heat oil in a sauté pan. Add garlic and onion and sauté until translucent. Add cumin and oregano and cook for 1-2mins until spices start to toast.

2.Nestle chicken breasts on top of onions and cover. Cook for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and cool enough to shred the chicken.

3.  Mix the shredded chicken with the onions, garlic and liquid from the pan.

Roasted Poblano Chile Sauce

1. Put Poblanos on the grill and char on every side. Put them in a paper sack for 15 minutes to sweat. Remove the pepper skins. They should peel off easily. Stem, seed and dice the peppers.

2. In a large bowl combine the broiled Poblano chilies, garlic and onion , tomato chunks with the remaining ingredients. Transfer batches of the mixture into a blender and process until smooth.

3. Empty the pureed sauce into a pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, adding water if necessary to keep the sauce moderately thick.

 

Chicken Enchilada's

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat the olive  oil in a frying pan until very hot and lightly cook each tortilla for 4 to 5 seconds per side (do not overcook). Drain on paper towels.

2. Dip each fried tortilla in the warm poblano sauce covering both sides with the sauce. Lay the tortilla on a large plate and spoon some of the cooked chicken meat along the center. Sprinkle with the chopped onion and roll up to make an enchilada. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, large enough to hold 8 enchiladas, one placed next to the other.

3.Repeat the above procedure for the remaining tortillas, placing each enchilada next to each other, seam side down.

4. Pour enough poblano sauce on top of the enchiladas to cover them, sprinkle with the cheese, and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.

Serve enchiladas garnished with coriander together with guacamole, salsa, sour cream or your favorite Mexican condiments.