See Also: Chicken / Poultry · Cooking Club · Main Dishes · Mexico
Chicken Enchiladas Verde
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Just one of many versions of enchiladas, and I especially like this green chili sauce. Adjust the seasonings as desired. If desired, use a good quality boxed chicken broth and use ready cooked chicken pieces if you need to save some time!
For the Chicken and the Broth:
2 -3 chicken breasts or thighs, with skin and bone
4 cups water
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
For the Tomatillo Sauce:
2 dozen fresh tomatillos
2 or more serrano or jalapeno peppers (as desired in heatness)
3 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
perhaps 1/2 teaspoon salt, depends on the broth
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup half and half, or milk
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cups of the cooked chicken, shredded
1 dozen corn tortillas, 8 inch size
olive oil
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
shredded lettuce
chopped fresh tomatoes
ripe olives
sour cream
First make the broth: In stockpot, combine the chicken, water, celery, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook, loosely covered, for about 30-45 minutes. Remove chicken pieces and when cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bone. Tear and shred them, measuring out about 2 cups of chicken. Strain the broth and taste, adjusting salt and pepper as needed. Measure out 3 cups of broth and set it aside.
To make the Tomatillo Sauce: Remove the husks from the tomatillos and place then in a large saucepan or stock pot. Discard the stems and seeds from the chili peppers and cut them into small pieces, adding to the tomatillos. Pour in the 3 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil, cover and boil gently about 10 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water and add this to the boiling mixture along with the cilantro. Cook another 4-5 minutes, stirring and mashing up the tomatillos. Cool slightly, taste. If it is not hot enough for your tastes, dice up and add another chili pepper and add a bit more salt if necessary. Mash or blend to smooth out the sauce a bit.
To assemble: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend the softened cream cheese and half and half until smooth. Add the diced onion and the shredded chicken and blend well. Set aside. In skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Quickly place in one tortilla for a couple of seconds, turn over and place another tortilla on top, turn again to soften each tortilla. Remove to a platter and repeat with remaining tortillas to heat and soften, but not to crispen them. (Or, stack all of them on a plate, drizzle with a bit of oil, and heat 20-30 seconds in the microwave.) Spoon a thin layer of the tomatilla sauce in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Spread each tortilla with a thin layer of the sauce and spoon about 1/4 cup or so of the chicken mixture down the center of each. Roll each and place seam side down in the dish, spooning on the remaining sauce. Bake 20 minutes, or until piping hot. Spread with the cheeses and return to oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve on individual plates with lettuce, tomatoes, olive and sour cream as desired.
Recipe created 2013-01-19.
