Enchiladas Suizas

If you are a fan of Saveur magazine as I am, you may recall The Mexico Issue (Aug/Sept 2012), loaded with mouth-watering recipes.  As mentioned in the magazine, “the flavors of Mexico are some of the freshest, boldest, and most delicious in the world.”  I couldn’t agree more.  This unique enchilada dish is particularly delectable. Quoting from Saveur, “This cheesy, creamy dish originated at a Sanborns café in Mexico City in 1950. Its name, ‘Swiss enchiladas’ alludes to its copious use of dairy.”

Poblano and Serrano peppers, cilantro and tomatillos give the sauce a beautiful green hue. The sour cream adds a subtle richness to the sauce.

Roasting the peppers, onions, garlic and tomatillos gives the sauce a slightly sweet and smokey edge and depth of flavor that goes so well with the mild cheese topping.  

Enchiladas Suizas

Adapted from Saveur Magazine

Makes 8 large enchiladas

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed

2 – 4  serrano chiles (depending on how much spice you prefer), stemmed and seeded and cut in half

2 – 3 poblanos, stemmed and seeded and cut in half (if the poblanos are very large use just 2)

1/2 large onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick

4 whole cloves garlic

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1 cup sour cream (I used Green Valley Organics lactose free sour cream)

1 cup boiling water

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted in a dry sauté pan

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

8  – 6 inch corn tortillas

1 deli roasted chicken, skin and bones removed, shredded

1 cup shredded queso Oaxaca or white cheddar

Preparation

Arrange an oven rack 4″ from the broiler and heat broiler to high.  Place tomatillos, serranos, poblanos, onion and garlic on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet (with sides) and broil, turning as needed, until blackened all over, about 10 minutes (I took the garlic cloves out after roasting for 5 minutes so they wouldn’t burn).  Let cool for about 10 minutes then peel and discard skins from peppers.  I pinched off the blackened areas of the tomatillos too. Roughly chop the poblanos.

Transfer the roasted ingredients to a blender along with the cilantro, sour cream, cumin seeds, and boiling water.  Add the salt and puree until smooth.  Set aside.

Here are my directions for preparing the tortillas from my previous post:

To prepare the corn tortillas – the traditional method is to briefly fry them in oil in a skillet until pliable.  Cook’s Illustrated has developed a method that is faster and uses considerably less oil.  The tortillas are arranged on a cookie sheet and lightly sprayed on both sides with cooking oil (Pam).  They are then baked in a 400 degree oven for about 4 minutes. When done, let them cool and they are ready to be filled and rolled.  Do not skip this step.  It keeps the tortillas intact during the baking process.

Place shredded chicken in a large bowl and toss with 1 cup of the enchilada sauce until evenly coated.  Divide chicken evenly among tortillas and roll tortillas tightly around chicken.  Pour about 1 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ baking dish, and place tortilla rolls in dish, seam side down.  Pour a bit of sauce over rolls, and cover evenly with cheese.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake enchiladas uncovered, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted, about 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.  Serve with extra sauce.