Friday, April 15, 2011

Enchiladas "Christmas"

I spent some time in Santa Fe last year and when I returned I was inspired to try my hand at a classic Santa Fe recipe--Enchiladas Christmas. I had a few good friends over for dinner and actually had the enchiladas in the oven when my husband cut his hand badly on the food processor blade. We ended up eating the enchiladas in the hospital waiting room.

Almost a year later, I was ready to attempt Enchiladas Christmas again. In Santa Fe, many dishes come with an option of a red chili sauce or a green chili sauce. If you want both, you say "Christmas." To make Enchiladas Christmas at home, you need to prepare two separate sauces, but fortunately both can be done in advance.


Chicken Enchiladas 
Serves 5

1 large chicken breast
2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon cumin
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
10 flour tortillas
Salt to taste

1. Combine one tablespoon of olive oil, lime juice, cumin, and salt. Pour in a bowl and add chicken breast, turning to coat. Cover and marinate several hours.
2. Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a grill pan over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes per side.
3. Meanwhile, shred cheddar cheese to large mixing bowl.
4. When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and let cool. Dice into small pieces.
5. Combine diced chicken with cheese.
6. Fill the center of each tortilla with 1/10 of the chicken and cheese mixture. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down in a baking dish. Place five rolled up tortillas in each pan.
7. Cook at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until tortillas are slightly browned and cheese is fully melted.
8. Top enchiladas with sauce. Reserve one pan for red sauce and one pan for green sauce.

Salsa Verde

3 tomatillos, husks removed
1 poblano pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste

1. Cook peppers and tomatillos at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove tomatillos and jalapeno. Continue broiling poblanos until skin is blackened. Let cool.
2. Peal skin off of poblanos. Cut into large pieces. Remove seeds from jalapenos and cut into large pieces. Remove stems from tomatillos.
3. Blend ingredients in a blender or food processor until liquefied.
4. Place in a small sauce pan. While enchiladas are in the oven, heat over low heat, stirring occasionally.
5. Pour over pan of enchiladas.

Salsa Roja 

Dried red chilies, such as Chili Arbol--the more chilies used, the hotter the sauce will be
6 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste


1. Roast chilies at 350 degrees about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn.
2. Remove stems and some seeds from chilies. Crumble in a blender or food processor. The more seeds included, the hotter your sauce will be. Add other ingredients and blend until liquefied.
3. Place in a small sauce pan. While enchiladas are in the oven, heat over low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Pour over pan of enchiladas.

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