Some of you may be looking at these pictures and think that these don’t look like any enchiladas I have eaten. This style of enchilada potosinas was made popular in San Luis, Potosi, Mexico. It’s a homemade corn tortilla infused with a red chile sauce, filled with a cheese/salsa mix and cooked on a comal then finished in a shallow fry for extra crispiness.
This Is Not a Quesadilla?
In some regions of Mexico, these would be considered quesadillas. When served, you would carefully open them and add more fillings, such as carne asada, shrimp or guisados of chicken or pork. But whatever you do, don’t tell anyone from San Luis Potosi that this is a quesadilla. The people of the different regions of Mexico are very proud of the dishes made popular in there specific region. I prepare a batch of these and keep them in the refrigerator all week. This way, I could prepare enchiladas, quesadillas or tacos for a quick lunch or dinner. And as important are the fresh garnishes for these Enchiladas Potosinas. A few must haves would be lettuce, Mexican crema and avocado.
It was time to revisit this tasty recipe!
I am really enjoying giving these older recipes a much needed do-over! Besides the fact that I get to eat some of these delicious foods(even cold), lol! Preparing them again, refreshes my mind on some techniques that I could possible improve upon. The original post, I used cotija cheese, no melting cheese. The enchiladas held up very well and didn’t tear open out leak out at all. You can see how uniform they are in the older pictures.
Tips~ If you would like your chile sauce a little more spicy, you could add in a few chile de arbol with the other dried peppers as I did in the video.
What is the best cheese to use?
In my experience with preparing enchiladas potosinas and similar quesadillas, it’s best to use a semi soft cheese, like queso fresco. The melting cheese is delicious too, but it will leak out as the enchilada cooks all the way through. Now if you are going to quickly shallow fry them, the melting cheese combination is good. Another option when building these is to leave the salsa and cheese separate. This way if you are only going to prepare a few, you don’t have a whole bowl of cheese & salsa.
Enchiladas Potosinas
Ingredients
Ingredients
Chile Sauce
- 6 Chile guajillo or California Stem and seeds removed
- Water to cover dried chiles
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 cup water for blending chiles
For Tortillas
- 3/4 cups warm water
- 1/3 cup chile puree more or less
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pork manteca(lard) or oil
- 1 1/3 cups Maseca brand masa harina
For Filling
- 1 full cup of queso fresco or cotija cheese if you prefer, you can use a melting cheese like Chihuahua or Oaxaca, shredded
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
- You Will Also Need
- Oil for cooking the enchiladas
- 3 cups shredded lettuce
- Onion thinly sliced, optional
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema
- 1 large avocado sliced
- 1/2 cup your favorite salsa
Instructions
Directions
- Add the dried chiles to a sauce pan. Cover with water and bring and bring up to a light simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Drain all the liquid and transfer to the blender. Add 1/2 cup of water, and spices listed. Blend on high until smooth, strain sauce through a wire mesh strainer, set aside. If you have a power blender, no need to strain.
- In a bowl, combine the masa harina and salt . In another bowl, combine the chile sauce, warm water and manteca or oil. Add the dry to the wet until the dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Preheat a skillet medium heat for 3-5 minutes. While the skillet is heating, roll 12 small or 8 medium masa balls. Transfer the dough balls to a large plate and keep covered with plastic. Line your tortilla press w/ plastic, cut to size of tortilla press.
- Press the masa ball to about 4 inches. While still in plastic, add about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons cheese/salsa mixture. Using the plastic, fold over to form a taco shape. Press around filling to to push out some of the air. Gently press edges together.
- Brush skillet with oil . Remove enchilada from plastic and place on preheated skillet. Brush top sides with oil. Cover the skillet. This will help create a little steam and cook the masa through. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, do not stack them. Now I like to serve them like this. Some people like to fry them in a little more oil for extra crispiness. Garnish with lettuce, Mexican crema, onions, cilantro, avocado, more queso and salsa.
Notes
Reader Interactions
Comments
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Yummy… these look/sound/taste vaguely familiar.. I bet I’ve had them sometime in my early lifetime.. One of these days Im going to have to give them a shot.. yum! Sound wonderful.
You must try them Kim! I have been enjoying them for lunch for the past couple of days, lol!
My masa sort of falling apart what can i do to fix it?
Melissa, the masa is delicate, especially when preparing these style of enchiladas. You could try mixing in a little flour to the masa and then kneading the masa a little before making the dough balls and pressing them.
Can I pre-make these and store and reheat?
Absolutely Olivia! I do this all the time. I cook them on the comal with no oil and then when I get ready to serve them, I flash fry them in a little oil until they get slightly crispy on both sides.
My husband’s family in mexico makes them..freezes them and ships them to us fed express..we thaw them out and cook in oil..fabulous! Can’t wait to try this recipe myself
Hi Lorie! That’s wonderful that they ship them to you!
What salsa do you use for the middle? I tried using salsa de arbol but it was too watery. Please help me! Lol my husband is mexican and used to eat them in mexico.
Dominique, you would want to use a salsa that is thicker.Or just don’t add as much salsa. There is always a chance that there will be some water that comes out once the enchiladas are heated. Which chile de arbol salsa did you use?
We tried the recipe today!!! Just like the fam in San Luis makes them! Having them tomorrow as we watch the Vikings beat the Eagles!
Oh good Lorie! Enjoy them. Thank you for sharing.
Made these today and they were so delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Oh, good Jacob! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it!
Can’t wait to try these! We get them in Tucson from a woman-owned restaurant. She is from San Luis de Potosi. We love them and often order them at her restaurant. I will use Santa Cruz chile puree from Tumacacori, AZ in the enchiladas. They have excellent chile products.
Sounds delicious Sandy!