Authentic Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chiles Sauce, Spanish Rice and Beans

Originally published October 7, 2008

Authentic Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce, Spanish Rice and Beans

Recipes used with permission of Dora Jennings

Recently, we invited a wonderful lady, Dora Jennings, to teach a cooking class for us on Mexican cuisine. Dora teaches the Mexican cuisine she learned growing up in a Mexican border town. Of course, other regions of Mexico have different takes on what she prepared for us. This meal is fabulous and I was able to re-create it easily.

Chicken Enchiladas and Red Chiles Sauce

10 dried and seeded Huajillo (Guajillo) peppers

5 Ancho peppers dried and seeded

Garlic Powder or Garlic Oil

Enough Corn Tortillas for 2-4 enchiladas per person

4 Chicken breasts de-boned and skinned

1 Med. Onion diced

24 oz. Queso Fresco crumbled

Powdered Chicken Bullion Knorr Brand

1 Cup Peanut oil or other oil with high smoke point

2 tbsp olive oil

Preparing the enchilada sauce:

Split the dried peppers, remove stems, fibers and seeds. Place the peppers into a pot that is deep enough for them to be covered with water. Bring the water to a boil and add the peppers. Boil them until they are soft. Once softened, taste the water used to boil the peppers. If it tastes bitter discard the water.

Place peppers, a tablespoon of powdered chicken bullion and some of the remaining red water used to boil the peppers (if the water is bitter add fresh water) into a blender. Blend until the sauce is smooth. Dip your index finger into the sauce. When you rub your index finger and thumb together you should feel no fibers or skin; it should be slick. If not, you may want to use a sieve and strain it.

Place a sauté pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Once it is hot add the garlic oil or garlic powder. Once it is fragrant add the red sauce and lower the heat to simmer until you are ready to dip the tortillas.

Poaching the chicken:

Bring a pot of water to a boil add salt or chicken broth and then add the chicken breasts. Bringing the water to a boil first will reduce the amount of white film that leads to boil-overs. Cook the chicken until it is done—about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate so it can cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken.

Creating the Cheese Topping:

Cube one 24oz wheel of Queso Fresco (Queso Fresco is available in most grocery stores) into 1 or 2 inch cubes. Likewise, cube ½ of a medium onion. Place the onion into a food processor and pulse 3 times. Add the cheese and pulse until the cheese and onion are mixed well and cheese is crumbly.

Assembling the Enchiladas:

Add peanut oil to a skillet (about 2 cups) and heat to 350 degrees. Add one corn tortilla and cook on both sides until the edge just begins to crisp (5-10 seconds on each side). You want your tortilla to be pliable. If the tortilla cannot be rolled it has been cooked too long. Repeat this process until you have cooked the entire batch.

Dip a tortilla into the red sauce and place a small amount of chicken on it and roll it tightly. The enchilada should be about the diameter of a nickel. Place it on a baking sheet, seam side down, and repeat until you are finished with the batch. Sprinkle the queso fresco and onion mixture onto the enchiladas and bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven set to 275 degrees.

Spanish Rice

2 Roma Tomatoes

¼ Onion Chopped in large pieces

1-1/2 cup Basmati, Texmati or other Long Grain Rice

Powdered Chicken Bullion to taste

4 T Olive oil

Chicken Broth (reserved from poaching the chicken)

Pre-soak rice in warm water—the longer you soak it the quicker it will cook. Drain well just prior to cooking.

Boil the tomatoes until soft, place in a blender and add powdered chicken bullion and blend them.

Set a frying pan or sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. When oil is hot, add the onion and cook until softened. Add the drained rice and toast for 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add enough poaching liquid to cover the rice and cover. If rice is undercooked after all broth is absorbed, add more broth until rice is soft.

Mexican Beans

By far, the beans are the easiest part of this meal to make. They taste great. I will always make my beans this way from this point forward.

3 cups of dried pinto beans

½ head of garlic

½ onion

6 slices chopped bacon

Powdered Chicken Bullion

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the bullion, bacon, garlic head and onion and bring back to a boil. Add the beans. Taste the water and adjust seasonings now because your beans will end up tasting like the liquid used to cook them. As the beans cook they will absorb the broth, so keep hot water handy to pour in when the beans begin to absorb the liquid. When the beans are soft, puree them with a hand blender until smooth.