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Green Chicken Enchiladas

Source of Recipe

From "Williams-Sonoma Comfort Food"


Recipe Introduction

"These deliciously cheesy enchiladas are stuffed with tender chicken and bathed in a spicy, zesty green tomatillo sauce. Corn tortillas make this Tex-Mex favorite gluten-free. Pile on the sour cream, avocado, and limes, taco-style, as the final touch."

List of Ingredients

◦  1½ pounds tomatillos, husks removed
◦  2 poblano chiles
◦  5 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
◦  2 yellow onions (1 quartered and 1 sliced)
◦  2 tsp olive oil
◦  1 teaspoon each ground cumin and dried oregano
◦  Kosher salt
◦  1½ pounds chicken breasts, on the bone
◦  1 package Farmer's cheese, crumbled
◦  Freshly ground pepper
◦  ¼ cup canola oil, plus more for the baking dish
◦  12 corn tortillas
◦  1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
◦  Sour cream for serving
◦  1 ripe avocado, pitted and cut into ½-inch dice, for serving


Recipe

To make the enchilada sauce, position the broiler rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler. Place the tomatillos, chilies, and 3 cloves of the garlic on the rack.

Brush the onion quarters with the oil and add to the rack. Broil the vegetables until they are browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic. Turn the remaining vegetables on the rack, and continue broiling until the tomatillos turn olive green, the chilies are blackened and blistered, and the onions are singed and tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove from the broiler and let cool. Remove the skins and seeds from the chilies, and peel the garlic. In a blender, purée the tomatillos, chilies, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt.

To make the filling, crush and peel the remaining 2 cloves garlic. Place the chicken in a medium saucepan with the sliced onion and peeled garlic. Add enough water to cover and season with 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool in the saucepan for 10 minutes. Remove from the saucepan (you can save the broth for another use) and let cool completely. Remove the chicken meat from the breasts, discarding the bones. Shred the chicken meat. (Do not worry if the chicken is slightly underdone.) Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the farmer's cheese, ½ cup of the enchilada sauce, and season with salt and pepper.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a 15 x 10 x 2-inch baking dish. Spread ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish.

Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. One at a time, fry the tortillas on both sides just until softened, about 10 seconds. Transfer to a plate. For each enchilada, spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling on the bottom third of a tortilla, roll it up, and arrange, seam side down, in the dish. Cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the Monterey jack. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted and golden, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve at once, topping each serving with a dollop of sour cream and some diced avocado.


Makes 4 to 6 servings