Enchiladas Verdes

There is one requirement for this recipe. You must say the name with a nice, suave, Spanish accent...go ahead..."Enchiladas Verdes!".  This is another one Elise and I made when she came to visit. We spent the better half of our day putting this dish together, but it was well worth it! I got the recipe from my America's Test Kitchen book. If you don't know much about ATK, it is great for someone learning how to cook because first, they travel the country to find the best recipes for a particular dish, and then they give detailed instructions on how to make it. So without further ado, here is the recipe that they found (and some entertaining pictures of our attempt to make it).

This is the picture from my cook book...as soon as we saw it, we were off to the grocery store to buy some tomatillos!

Ingredients
4 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-3 breasts), trimmed of excess fat
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (16-20 medium), husks removed, rinsed well and dried
(look for pale green tomatillos that fill and split open the fruit's outer papery husk)
3 medium poblano chiles, halved lengthwise, stemmed and seeded
1 - 2 1/2  tsp sugar
Salt 
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves 
8 ounces pepper Jack or Monterey Jack cheese, grated (2 cups)
12-15 (6-inch) corn tortillas 

Garnish
2 medium scallions, sliced thin
Sour cream

Directions
1. Adjust the oven racks to the middle and highest position and turn the broiler on. Now, poach the chicken (which is just a funny way of saying, 'cook in a flavored broth').

Heat 2 tsp of the oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering; add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, 6-8 minutes. Add 2 tsp of garlic and the cumin. Cook and stir for about 30 seconds. Decrease the heat to low and stir in chicken broth. Add the chicken (raw), cover, and simmer until an instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees (15-20) minutes, flipping half way through. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl; place in the refrigerator to cool, about 20 minutes.  Remove 1/4 cup liquid from the saucepan and set aside; discard the remaining liquid.

 2. Meanwhile, toss the tomatillos and poblanos with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil; arrange on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, with the poblanos skin side up. Broil until the vegetables blacken and start to soften, 5-10 minutes, rotate the pan halfway through cooking. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove the skin from the poblanos (leave the tomatillo skin intact). Put them all into a food processor.  Set the oven to 350 degrees. Discard the foil from the baking sheet and set the baking sheet aside for warm the tortillas.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, the remaining teaspoon garlic, and the reserved 1/4 cup cooking liquid to the food processor. Pulse until the sauce is somewhat chunky, about eight 1-second pulses. Taste the sauce; season with salt and pepper and adjust tartness by stirring in the remaining sugar, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. Voila, you have made green chile! You should have about 3 cups. (note: we added some jalepenos because it needed some spice).

4. When the chicken is cool, pull into shreds using your hands or 2 forks, then chop into small bite-sized pieces. Combine the chicken with the cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese; season with salt.

5. Smear the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with 3/4 cup of the tomatillo sauce. Place the tortillas on 2 baking sheets. Spraying both sides of the tortillas lightly with Pam. Bake until the tortillas are soft and pliable, 2-4 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Place the warm tortillas on a clean countertop and spread 1/3 cup filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Pour the remaining tomatillo sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Use the back of a spoon to spread the sauce so that it coats the top of each tortilla. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and cover the baking dish with foil.

 

6. Bake the enchiladas on the middle rack until heated through and the cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with scallions, and serve immediately.

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