I found this recipe in one of the cook books my sister in law gave me and I have wanted to try it for a very long time. It would be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, since it’s green, or Cinco de Mayo. If you’re like me and can’t get enough spicy food then make it whenever your little heart desires.

I really wish the tomatillos in my garden were ready, but my plants are still just flowering. In the meantime I went to the store and picked up some along with assorted hot peppers.

This doesn’t taste like your typical enchiladas made with a spicy red sauce. Instead you have a tangy green sauce that also packs a punch. I absolutely loved these and ate myself silly. I could barely walk to the couch, my stomach hurt so much from filling my face.

 

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts bone in (I used boneless)
  • 1 onion
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1-2 cups water
  • 6-8 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp chili powder or chipotle powder (or 50/50 of both)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Bunch of cilantro
  • 4-6 tomatillos (depending on size)
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 1 Anaheim chilli
  • 2 cups jack cheese shredded
  • 12 corn tortillas
  • Olive oil
  • Sour cream and avocado to top enchiladas with

 

Place chicken breasts skin side down in a sauce pan.  Add chicken stock, half the onion chopped, 2 cloves of garlic whole, peppercorns, 6 springs of cilantro from the bunch, cumin, chili powder, jalapeno chopped (keep seeds in if you want the sauce spicy) and enough water to just cover chicken.  Heat to medium low and simmer until cooked about 25 minutes if you use bone in chicken. 15 if you use boneless.

 

 

While chicken is cooking place tomatillos, the other half of onion (chopped chunky), and Anaheim chilli (chopped in half), and the rest of the garlic cloves onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands to smother the oil evenly, make sure everything is coated. Put into preheated 400 degree oven. Cook until tomatillos are soft. About 10-15 min, turning once.

When tomatillos are done remove from oven, cool for 10 min. carefully put tomatillos in blender, trying not to make them burst. Scrap seeds from Anaheim pepper, discard seeds and put pepper in the blender with the roasted garlic, cilantro (about 2 tablespoons of the bunch) and baked onion. Blend until smooth. If everything is still hot cover the lid of blender with towel in case there is splatter.

Once the chicken is cooked remove from liquid and set aside to cool. Simmer sauce for 10 more minutes, taste to adjust seasoning. Strain, reserving the liquid (broth). Pour about one cup of the broth back into a saucepan. Pour in blended tomatillo to chicken broth and cook again for 10 minutes on a high to reduce slightly.

When chicken has slightly cooled, shred with fork, set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 (it’s already hot so it won’t take long). Lightly oil a large baking dish. To assemble enchiladas, pour 1/3 of the sauce into baking dish. If your corn tortillas aren’t soft enough heat in a frying pan with some oil. Once soft, fill with some shredded chicken and jack cheese, roll into a cigar shape and place in baking dish seam side down. Repeat until you’re done. Left over chicken is great on your salads if you have too much!

 

 

Pour remaining green sauce over enchiladas, cover with cheese and bake until cheese is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream and avocado.

 

 

The technique of poaching the chicken adds a subtle Mexican flavour right into the meat. I probably could have just sat and ate the chicken all night long. If you didn’t want to poach chicken or didn’t have time then you could use leftover roasted chicken or you can buy a pre-cooked roasted chicken from the store and shred the meat off the bones.