The Whole Enchilada~My Three Favorite Recipes. I have gathered my three favorite enchilada recipes for an upcoming cooking class this weekend. As I was putting this post together I received a phone call that the class had to be cancelled due to a family emergency. I am keeping my good friend Sue and her family in my prayers. And because of this unfortunate news, it reminded me even more why I started all of this and a reason to finish this post. That was to keep my parents legacy going, to share the flavors and foods I grew up with. To inspire you all to cook for the ones you love, to share that experience, to make memories that will last a lifetime. If you have the opportunity to sit down with a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, do it. Ask questions about the foods they enjoyed as kids and what there favorite homecooked meals were. It may not seem important now, but believe me, one day you wil be happy did.
We do not remember days…..We remember moments….
Monterrey-Style Enchiladas~Ever since my very memorable return trip to Monterrey, Mexico in 2011, I have kept in close contact with a few of my first cousins. We all share the same passion of cooking and preserving our family’s recipes. My cousin Ismael has been so kind as to regularly send me recipes posted in the local newspaper in Monterrey. Many of the recipes are familiar and very close to what my Mom use prepare for us. This recipe in particular caught my eye because it is just the way I grew up enjoying enchiladas. Lots of times they were just filled with grated or crumbled queso fresco or panela with diced onions and the tortillas were dipped in the chile sauce. Made to order!
Monterrey-Style Enchiladas de Norte (Traditional)
6 chile ancho
3 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups queso fresco or panela cheese, grated (plus more to garnish)
1 cup white or red onions, finely diced, plus 1/2 a cup thinly sliced for garnish
1 cup oil for frying
12 corn tortillas
4 to 5 cups of shredded lettuce
Mexican crema
Queso fresco, crumbled
Pickled jalapeño peppers
Cilantro
Avocado slices
Lime
Tomato wedges
Thinly sliced onionDirections:
1. Remove the stems and seeds from the chile ancho and transfer them to a saucepan. Cover peppers with 3 cups of water and heat to medium. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Remove from heat and let them cool slightly.
2. While the peppers are cooling grate the cheese and transfer it to a bowl. Add 1 cup of finely diced onions and set aside. Prep the rest of your ingredients.
3. Drain the chile ancho and transfer to the blender. Add the 2 cups of chicken broth, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Blend on high until smooth and strain through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl.
4. Heat the 3 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat in a pan.. Add the chile ancho sauce and continue cooking for a good 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens. Taste for salt.
5. Preheat the 1 cup of oil(vegetable) in a skillet to medium heat for 5 minutes. When ready, dip one corn tortilla into the chile ancho sauce and turn to coat evenly. Using the tongs, dip the tortilla in the hot oil and cook for just a few seconds or until tortilla softens. Transfer to the serving dish and fill with cheese and onion mixture; roll as tight as you can.
6. Repeat until all the enchiladas are done. You have to work quickly when making these if serving right away. If you like, you could keep them in a baking dish covered with foil paper as you roll them to keep them warm. Garnish as you like with toppings listed. Yields 4 to 6 servings.
Street Style Enchiladas~A delicious variation to a traditional rolled plate of enchiladas. Often sold in puestos from street vendors in the mercados or road stands in various parts of Mexico. The stand out flavors come from the flavorful enchilada sauces which are typical prepared using dried chile peppers.I found myself with only a few dried peppers, so decided to make good use of the spices in my pantry. For this version in todays blog post, I gathered my best spices out of the cupboard and prepared a Tex Mex version of enchilada sauce. I often explain to friends that my family’s version of enchiladas was all about the garnishes. Lightly garnishes with fresh ingredients, such as crisp lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and just a sprinkle of crumbled queso fresco. At the end of the blog post you will find a recipe for Enchilada Casserole. Great for a big crowd or large family
Street-Style Enchiladas (Street-Style)
For the Sauce (Tex-Mex-Style)
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons chile ancho powder (dark, mild)
2 tablespoons red chile powder (bright red, mild)
* I use Gebhardt brand, if you cannot find a mild red chile powder, just add 2 more tablespoon of chile ancho powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed
1/2 tablespoon dry onion flakes, optional
4 cups chicken stock or broth (In a pinch I will use chicken soup base to make a broth)
You will also need
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
Tips~ I like to prepare a double batch of this sauce. It freezes well and makes for a quick night meal with a few tortillas and a store bought roasted chicken.
You will also need
12 corn tortillas
canola or olive oil
3 cups cooked (finely shredded) chicken, beef or pork
Lettuce or cabbage, finely shredded
Tomato slices or wedges
1 avocado sliced
Queso fresco crumbled
Mexican crema
Salsa or hot sauce of your choice
Cilantro, chopped
Lime wedges
Directions
1. In a large skillet, heat the 4 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat for a few minutes. Whisk in the flour until smooth and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
2. Add in all of the remaining ingredients for the sauce in the order listed, making sure you whisk now and then. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and taste for salt. Cook at a simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until it thickens. Turn to low heat.
3. Transfer the shredded meat to a medium pan and mix in 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, just enought to moisten the meat. Cover and keep warm on low.
4. In a separate skillet, preheat 1/2 cup of oil to medium heat for a few minutes. One at a time, dip a corn tortilla into the enchilada sauce, then fry it in the oil for 30 seconds per side. Transfer to baking pan, fill with a couple tablespoons of meat and fold over like a taco. Or you can fold in into quarters, so it resembeles a chip(triangle), it’s up to you. Continue dipping and cooking tortillas then filling until all done. Serve right away or keep warm in a low temperature oven. Ladle any extra sauce over enchiladas right before serving. Garnish with your favorite toppings listed. Yields 4 servings
Tips~ To prepare a homemade Mexican -style crema mix equal parts of heavy cream and sour cream. Season with salt to taste and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours. Stir and enjoy! Keep refrigerated.
Pastel Azteca~ First thing I need to say is that I did not make up the name of this dish, lol! It’s a authentic name for a style of enchilada that is quite popular in Mexico. And to think, that all this time, I thought layered enchiladas in a casserole style were originally from Texas! Lol! I love Texas! For many reasons. #familia The one thing you would notice if you were served this dish in Mexico is the beautiful way that it is presented to you. Typically in a decorative and ornate cazuela de barro(mexican pottery). Some of the most common ingredients found in the pastel de azteca would be roasted poblanos, corn, onions, chicken and pork together. The sauces vary from a popular red chile sauce to salsa verde. For today’s blog post, I needed a meatless variation. But you could easily add in some shredded(cooked) chicken, beef or pork. Or for you seafood lovers some grilled shrimp would be delicious! And an easy and tasty sauce is the white jocoque style sauce prepared with sour cream (or mexican crema) and buttermilk. No cooking required, just a quick blend and it’s ready to go. I am sure that these days if you enjoyed this recipe with a family in Mexico, things are so modern that it would look more like that southern style casserole we all know and love.
Pastel Azteca (Family-Style)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large poblano, sliced into strips
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium sweet onion, sliced into strips
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, red fresno or serrano, minced
2 ears of fresh corn
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
For Salsa de Mesa
3 roma tomato, sliced in half or quartered
1/4 sweet onion
1 to 2 cloves garlic
1 to 2 serrano peppers or red fresno, roughly chopped
Pinch of oregano
salt to taste
*You could add some lime to the salsa, but I did not this time
For White Sour Cream Sauce (Jocoque)
2 cups sour cream
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup cotija or queso fresco cheese, crumbled ( I added some extra jack cheese to the sauce as well, about 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
salt to taste
You will also need
16 corn tortillas
More olive oil
2 cups Oaxaca, Chihuahua or Mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded
Directions
1. To a skillet add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat to medium. Add the poblano, bell pepper, onion, garlic and chile pepper. Season lightly with salt and pepper and saute for 6 -8 minutes. Add the corn, oregano, paprika and a little more salt and pepper (just a pinch). Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. While the vegetables are cooking, prepare your salsa de mesa. You can cook them on the stove top or pop all of the ingredients in the microwave. Add to a glass bowl, cover with paper towel and microwave for 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to the blender, add oregano, lime (if using) and salt to taste. Blend until smooth, pour into a bowl and rinse out the blender jar.
3. For the sour cream enchilada sauce, you will add all of the ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. Taste for salt, set aside. Brush the corn tortillas on both sides with olive oil. Preheat a nonstick pan to medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Cook the corn tortillas for 45 to 50 seconds per side or until they start to get crisp in spots. you want them to still be pliable. Stack and set aside.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a deep oven safe skillet(4 quart) or pie pan build your pastel azteca. Start with a layer of white sauce, just enough to cover the bottom of pan. Don’t be skimpy, lol! Add a layer of tortillas, they should overlap slightly. Then add a layer of white sauce, sauteed vegetable mixture, cheese, salsa de mesa and end with more white sauce. Repeat the layers until you end up with a light layer of white sauce, vegetables, cheese and salsa on top. Top with a little more crushed oregano. Don’t go too heavy on the layers in between or you will run out of ingredients. Cover with foil paper and bake for 30 minutes. remove foil and cook under broiler just to brown the cheese a little. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Yields 6-8 serving
*Serve with extra salsa and crema(sour cream)
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