Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

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In New Mexico, enchiladas can be rolled or flat and stacked, made with yellow or blue corn tortillas, filled with any number of ingredients, and smothered in chile sauce. After you decide to order enchiladas here, there are still decisions to be made. First, blue or regular referring to the type of tortilla, rolled or stacked, red or green chile sauce and, if you can’t decide and want both sauces, order “Christmas.” And finally you may order them with a fried egg on top, which is true New Mexican fare.

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts

  • 2 small onions, chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 whole cloves

  • 1 cup sour cream

  • 1/4 cup black olives, chopped

  • 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

  • Vegetable oil for frying

  • 8 corn tortillas

  • 2 cups Green Chile Sauce 

  • Chopped fresh lettuce and tomatoes, and sour cream for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large pot, cover the chicken, ½ of the onions, garlic, and cloves with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. Remove the chicken. Strain and reserve the broth for use in the sauce. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones, and shred.

To assemble: Place a little of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. To soften the tortillas, pour the oil in a pan to a depth of about a 1/4-inch and heat until hot enough so that a drop of water in the oil will sputter. Dip a tortilla briefly in hot oil to soften, remove and drain. Next dip the tortilla in the sauce and place on the baking pan. Place some of the chicken down the center of the tortilla, top with some chopped onions, sour cream, olives, and cheese over the chicken, and roll. Ending with the flap side down in the pan.

Pour additional sauce over the enchiladas and bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Garnish with the lettuce and tomatoes, and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce

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This very easy to prepare sauce only gets better as it ages. Allow it to sit for at least a week before using, if possible. For a green version of this sauce, use serrano, jalapeño, or Thai chiles in their green stage, instead of the red varieties called for below. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup fresh tabasco chiles, stems removed, or substitute cayenne, piquin, or japones chiles

  • 2/3 cup white vinegar

  • 1 3/4 teaspoons salt

Instructions

Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Pour into a clean, sterilized bottle and let steep in the refrigerator for a few weeks before using.

 

New Mexican Green Chile Sauce

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This versatile sauce is basic to New Mexican cuisine. It is best with freshly roasted and peeled chile but can be made with canned, frozen or even dried green chile. Finely diced pork can be added but cook the sauce for an additional half hour. Use this sauce over enchiladas, burritos, or tacos. It will keep for about 5 days in the refrigerator and freezes well.

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  • 2 to 3 cups homemade chicken stock

  • 1 cup chopped green New Mexico chile, roasted, peeled, stems removed

  • 1 small tomato, peeled and chopped

Instructions

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Stir in the flour and blend well. Simmer for a couple of minutes to “cook” the flour. Slowly add the broth and stir until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes.

Fresh Red Chile Sauce

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This method of making chile sauce differs from others using fresh green New Mexican chiles because these chiles aren’t roasted and peeled first, as you must do with green chiles. Because of the high sugar content of fresh red chiles, this sauce is sweeter than most. We harvested some chiles from his garden one late summer day, made a batch of this sauce, and ate every drop as a soup! It makes a tasty enchilada sauce, too. It will keep for about a week in the refrigerator.

Ingredients


1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 fresh red New Mexican chiles (or more to taste), seeds and stems removed, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano leaves
Salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the chiles, onion, and garlic until the onion is soft, about 7 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, uncovered.

In a blender, puree the sauce in batches and return it to the saucepan. Cook until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Add salt to taste.

Salsa di Pomadoro Crudo (Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce)

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This is a very basic sauce that can be easily changed to create a variety of different pasta dishes. For example, substitute feta cheese for the mozzarella, oregano for the basil, add some kalamata olives and chopped capers and you have Greek pasta. This dish can be served hot or at room temperature making it great for summer entertaining.

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatoes, chopped

  • ½ cup chopped fresh basil

  • 2 to 3 jalapeño or serrano chiles, stems and seeds removed, minced

  • 2 tablespoons minced red onion

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 6 oz. fresh mozzarella, asiago, or ricotta cheese, diced small

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • Chopped walnuts for garnish

Instructions

Combine the tomatoes, basil, chiles, onion, and garlic in a large serving bowl. Stir in the cheese, olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce stand for 30 minutes to blend the flavors. Cook the pasta until the done and drain. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Garnish with the walnuts and serve.