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My Mother’s Enchiladas (Mexican)
By Erika Aguirre
INGREDIENTS:
12 corn tortillas
5-7 tablespoons of olive oil (or peanut or canola)
1 pound (4 cups) of Monterey Jack cheese, grated
11 New Mexico dried red chiles (guajillo)
3 cups of water
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tomatillos, peeled
1 clove of garlic
Half a head of iceberg lettuce
Pinch of Knorr® Chicken Bouillon (we used this stuff on everything growing up)
1 cup of sour cream (optional)
1/4 onion, chopped (optional)
1 tomato, sliced (optional, for garnish)
1 cup of sour cream (optional)
PREPARATION:

Rinse off the chiles under running water, place in a large saucepan, cover generously with water, add a tablespoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Let the chiles stand covered for 30 to 45 minutes or until soft. In a separate saucepan, boil the two peeled tomatillos. Once boiled, remove the tomatillos from heat and cover. Drain chiles, reserving soaking liquid. Pull the stems off the chiles and gently rinse off seeds. Place the chiles in a blender along with one cup of the reserved liquid (use more or less to vary the thickness), the two tomatillos and the clove of garlic. Blend until pureed. Pour into a sieve over a bowl, and rub through the sieve to eliminate any pulp or seeds. Pour the sauce into a saucepan, add a pinch of the Knorr Chicken Bouillon, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and put aside. Your authentic enchilada sauce is ready!

Grate the Monterey Jack cheese and put off to the side. You can mix it with the optional chopped onions for an extra kick (recommended). In a medium frying pan at medium-high heat, add enough oil to submerge the tortillas. When the oil is shimmering and hot (not quite smoking), add a corn tortilla to the pan. Cook it for 2-3 seconds, use a metal spatula to turn it over, and cook it for 2 to 3 seconds more (just enough to soften both sides evenly). Lift up the tortilla with a spatula. Once the tortilla bubbles up slightly, dip it into the saucepan with the enchilada sauce. Place the dipped tortilla onto a separate plate.

Put a small handful of the grated Monterey Jack cheese (with the optional onion) into the tortilla and then fold it. Add a layer of grated Monterey Jack cheese and the sliced iceberg lettuce on top of the enchiladas. You can garnish your plate of enchiladas with the sliced tomato. Optional side: sour cream.