Comida with Poco x Clay | Enchiladas
For The Joy Of Being Together
By Clay Imports
At Clay Imports, we celebrate our connection to Mexico in almost everything we do. This includes supporting sustainable local crafts, production techniques and inviting others to marvel at the beauty of this fascinating country, both at our San Miguel de Allende Studio, the workshops in Saltillo and beyond!
Naturally, being in Mexico also means we have the chance to taste one of the best cuisines in the world! In the Comida with Poco X Clay blog series, our team will be preparing some classic Mexican dishes they love using our Poco X Clay chef series ceramics, so you can also enjoy the best cuisine in the world in your own kitchen!
Coincidentally, it's Hispanic Heritage Month right now, so the timing is perfect to try something that holds such significance for Mexico.
What are Enchiladas?
Enchiladas are a kind of taco with salsa. Enchilada is the past participle of the verb enchilar, which translates to "to add chili pepper to"; that means that, traditionally, the tortillas for these tacos have chili pepper or other chili spices added for flavor. Enchiladas can be filled with various ingredients, including meats, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or combinations, just like we saw with our flautas recipe.
The difference is that enchiladas should always include chili-based sauces, such as salsa roja, moles, tomatillo-based sauces such as salsa verde, or cheese-based sauces such as chile con queso.
Enchiladas are different from other kinds of tacos, because they are baked and they are pretty much exclusively eaten as a main course. Although they can be tricky to cook at first, enchiladas are a perfect getaway before cooking more elaborate Mexican dishes. As we mentioned before, there are a lot of flavors and colors of enchiladas. For our recipe,we are going to teach you how to prepare green enchiladas.
Ingredients
For our enchiladas (serving 4) we are going to need:
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 spoon of oregano
- Salt
- 2 garlic
- 1 kl of tortillas
- 500 g of tomatillo
- 2 serrano chiles
- 1 jalapeno chile
- 1 poblano chile
- A bunch of cilantro
- Water
- Pinch of cumin
- Manchego cheese
- Sour cream
How to prepare Enchiladas
- Boil the chicken with water, a tablespoon of salt, a piece of onion, a peeled garlic, two bay leaves and a tablespoon of oregano. Let it cook for approx. 50 minutes, set the breast apart to cool and save a cup of the broth.
- Shred the chicken and grate the cheese.
- Wash the cilantro and poblano chile. You can cut the chili to remove the seeds and make the sauce less spicy.
- Peel the tomatillos and wash them as well as the other chilies. Boil the tomatoes and chilies with enough water. When the tomatillos change color, remove them from the heat along with the chilies and let them cool for 5 min.
- Blend the tomatillos, the three types of chili, the cilantro, a piece of onion, a garlic, salt, a pinch of sugar, a tablespoon of cumin with a cup of broth in which the chicken was cooked.
- Add three tablespoons of oil to a frying pan to cook the blended sauce at low heat until the mix is boiling. It should be mixed from time to time and seasoned with salt to taste, if necessary.
- Add enough oil to a frypan to fry the tortillas one at a time. Wait for the oil to be very hot to quickly pass the tortilla on both sides, drain it and set them aside.
- In a baking dish, put a layer of sauce to place the enchiladas there. To form the enchiladas, first take the tortilla and dip it in the sauce, then fill them with the chicken. Arrange the rolled enchiladas in the baking dish, and in each layer, add a little more sauce. When the refractory is full, put a layer of the shredded cheese on top.
Your enchiladas should be arranged like this before putting them in the oven
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Once ready, put the baking dish in the oven at 360 degrees for 20 minutes. Let the enchiladas cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips and tricks
- In each portion, you can put cheese, sour cream, sliced onions or more sauce.
- As we mentioned earlier, you can cut your chilies and remove the seeds and veins in order to make the sauce less spicy.
- Taste your salsa! After blending your ingredients, taste the sauce and if you think it is a little too acidic, you can set apart a portion and add water before blending again.
- Chicken is the traditional filling for enchiladas, but you can replace it with any protein, like beef or pork and even you can try vegan options, like mushrooms or rajas.
Enchiladas ready to serve
The secret behind Mexican cuisine is to keep practicing! The more dishes you do, the best they’ll taste and the more confident you will be to prepare these recipes. And remember, if you want to have these meals with tableware hecho en Mexico, take a look at our Poco x Clay collection. Provecho!
