Mains · By James
Enchiladas Salsa Verde (Green Salsa Sauce)
We've rarely made enchiladas in the past, but during this last holiday vacation in San Jose del Cabo (2023 — December) Jocelyn decided that enchiladas were going to be made. And, they were wonderful! So, when Sharon and I decided to organize another Library cooking evening for staff in the spring of 2024, we had a Mexican theme with enchiladas on the menu. We wanted to try them with a salsa verde sauce, so we found a good recipe, doctored it shamelessly, and the results were amazing! We both couldn't stop exclaiming over how rich the chicken was, and how the tart salsa verde was a beautiful counterpoint to the chicken and the rich creaminess of the cheese/sour-cream infused sauce! Cheers to Joc for inspiring this family food foray within one of our favorite cuisines!
Ingredients
Succulent Shredded Chicken
- 5 boneless chicken thighs (large size) (or 6 smaller) — sliced into pieces
- Water — just enough to cover thighs
- 1 small onion (½ large), roughly diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
- 1 bay leaf
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
Enchiladas
- Shredded cooked chicken — see above
- 430 ml jar salsa verde (PC "black label" brand)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed or finely minced
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped (reserve 4 tablespoons for a garnish at the end)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack (or Mexican cheese blend)
- ½ cup of the reserved chicken broth from stewing your chicken
- 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas (we get ours at the Mexican Market in Redcliff) — be sure they remain covered until ready to roll into enchiladas
Succulent Shredded Chicken
- 1
Place sliced chicken thigh into heavy bottomed medium pot.
- 2
Cover with enough water to barely cover the thigh pieces.
- 3
Add all remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer uncovered — 30 minutes.
- 4
Remove thigh pieces from broth into a large bowl. You can scoop out all the onion with the chicken as well. Shred chicken with two forks.
- 5
Turn up heat on remaining broth to boil. Once reduced by ½, turn off heat.
- 6
To flavorize and moisten the shredded chicken add up to ¼ cup of the reduced broth to the shredded chicken thighs, and mix around — be careful not to make the mixture soggy wet (no liquid pooling). Reserve the remaining broth for the enchilada mixture.
Enchiladas
- 1
Preheat oven to 375°F.
- 2
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, then cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- 3
Stir in the salsa verde and the reserved chicken broth and cook for 1–2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and then stir in the sour cream and cilantro. Taste for salt.
- 4
Set aside 2 cups of the sauce: ½ cup for the bottom of the enchilada baking pan, and 1½ cups for pouring over the enchiladas. There will be a small amount of sauce remaining in the skillet.
- 5
Stir the shredded chicken and half of the shredded cheese (1 cup) into the small amount of sauce remaining in the skillet. This is to further moisten and flavorize the chicken.
- 6
Pour the ½ cup of sauce that was set aside into the bottom of your baking pan and spread around.
- 7
Assemble your enchiladas: be sure your tortillas are warm before assembling (20–30 seconds in the microwave will do it) — prevents splitting when you roll them. Do one tortilla at a time, placing chicken mixture to one side of the middle and then rolling carefully, tucking mixture in as you roll. Place immediately in the prepared pan, seam-side down. Be generous with the chicken in the middle.
- 8
Pour the 1½ cups of remaining sauce over the top of your enchiladas.
- 9
Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top, and cover tightly with foil.
- 10
Bake for 15 minutes covered, then remove foil and turn oven to broil. Broil for approximately 5–7 minutes, watching closely. You want a bit of browning on your cheese topping.
- 11
Before serving sprinkle on the remaining chopped cilantro.
- 12
Serve out 2 or 3 enchiladas at a time onto each plate (use 2 big flippers, and work around the edges of the group of enchiladas before lifting them out). This helps keep the rolled enchiladas intact — trying to serve out 1 enchilada will usually result in it breaking apart.
A note from James
Credit: https://www.inspiredtaste.net/11767/salsa-verde-chicken-enchiladas/ — we've used their basic approach with a number of variations that improve the enchiladas, like different proportions for more flavor and saucier enchiladas, and corn tortillas instead of flour (much better flavor). Drink/wine pairing: robust Chardonnay, or a pinot noir.
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