Green Chile Enchiladas

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I have written over on Fete and Feast about how much I love enchiladas and my quest to find the perfect enchilada in my now home-town of Austin. And while I spent many words waxing rhapsodic about red chile enchiladas, there’s plenty of room in my enchilada-loving heart for green chile enchiladas. In my experience, green chile enchiladas are a little mellower than their red counterparts, making them a great starter enchilada for those new to the dish or a nice change of pace from the more acidic red enchiladas or fruity tomato-based enchiladas. I tend to like my green chile enchilada sauce smooth and creamy, which means it’s often sour cream based, but I’ve come to enjoy Greek yogurt as a twist on that tradition. I’ve been making this enchilada recipe for about twenty years now and it’s never failed me. You’ll note that it’s filled with cheese and onions, my preferred filling for any enchilada, but if you take a look at the Recipe for Success section at the end of the post, I include some other ideas on what other fillings might go well with this ooey-gooey green sauce.

Recipe: Green Chile Enchiladas

Details

• Difficulty: Easy
  
• Serves: 4-6
  
• Prep Time: 30 min
  
• Cook Time: 25 min
  

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• ¼ c. butter
• 1 ¼ c. diced yellow onion, divided (about 1 medium onion)
• ¼ c. all purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• ½ tsp. cumin
• 14 oz. chicken broth (1 can)
• 8 oz. 2% Greek yogurt
• 8 oz. roasted green chilies, chopped (about 1 c.)
• 12 corn tortillas
• 6 oz. queso asadero cheese, shredded (about 1 ½ c.)
• 6 oz. manchego cheese, shredded (about 1 ½ c.)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9″ x 13″ glass baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
3. Sauté ¼ c. of onion in the butter until soft but not brown.
4. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and cumin to the butter and onion and stir to combine. Continue to stir as the mixture bubbles, about two minutes more.
5. Pour the broth into the pan in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Raise the heat to medium high and continue whisking until the mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Whisk for 3 more minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and add the yogurt to the sauce; whisk to combine.
7. Add the green chilies to the sauce and whisk to combine. The sauce will be very thick.
8. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Spread ½ c. of the sauce sauce along the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
10. Toss the queso asadero and manchego cheese to combine. Reserve 3/4 c. of the cheese.
11. Lay three tortillas on a plate so their edges are barely overlapping; microwave them for 20-30 seconds on high, or until they are soft and pliable.
12. Remove the tortillas from the microwave and lay them on a clean counter or on a sheet pan. Fill each tortilla with about 2 Tbps. of grated cheese and 1 Tbsp. of onion. Roll up each tortilla and place it seam side down on top of the thin layer of sauce in the prepared baking dish.
13. Repeat the heating, filling, and rolling process with the remaining tortillas, cheese, and onion.
14. Pour the remaining green chile sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas and use a spatula to spread it evenly across the top. Push the sauce down between the tortillas as well so it covers them on all sides.
15. Sprinkle the reserved cheese and any leftover onions on top of the enchiladas.
16. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
17. Remove the foil from the dish and bake for another 5-7 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and the tops of the enchiladas begin to brown lightly.
18. Remove the pan from the oven and let it rest in the baking dish for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe for Success

• I like the tartness that Greek yogurt adds to the dish. The fact that it is good for you and not weighed down with calories is a bonus. You can substitute regular plain yogurt or even sour cream for the lower fat Greek yogurt.
• I prefer to use thin corn tortillas for any enchilada preparation. The thicker tortillas bring too much tortilla to the party and eclipse the other ingredients.
• If you can’t find queso asadero, a Mexican melting cheese, you can substitute Monterrey Jack instead. I like to use a mix of the melting cheese and manchego cheese for a more complex flavor profile. For simplicity’s sake though, you can simply use 10 oz of either Monterey Jack or queso asadero.
• I like to work with tortillas three at a time because they all stay warm enough to be pliable. If I try to work with more than three, the last couple have cooled down by the time I’m ready to roll them and they inevitably break.
• The full cup of chopped chilies gives this dish a very robust green chile flavor. You can reduce the chile by up to half for a less intense chile flavor or, to heat things up a bit, combine hot and mild chilies.
• You can prepare the dish all the way through step 16 up to eight hours ahead and refrigerate the prepared enchiladas. Remove the cold dish from the oven 30 minutes before you’re ready to put it in the over and then proceed with baking the enchiladas at 425 degrees.
• While I’m a firm believer that enchiladas should only be filled with cheese and onion, this recipe adapts easily to other fillings. Shredded chicken or tender pork would be a great place to start, as would grilled vegetables or sautéed spinach. You could also fill these with crab or shrimp for a seafood variation.