Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Sort of just made this one up one day. It's a pretty standard recipe and one could change it up in a lot of ways.

I start by roasting my own green chiles. I lived in Albuquerque for a while and fell in love with green chile, so I try to roast them when possible. But I'm not above using canned green chiles either.

It's really easy to roast green chiles at home. Turn your gas burner on high and put them on until they start to char. (No gas? Just broil them on a pan in the oven)

Turn them over and over and try to get them uniformly charred. Don't skimp this process. Any part of the chile that isn't pretty charred will be a pain in the butt to peel after the fact.

Pop them into a brown paper bag (yes, like a lunch bag) and let them steam for about 5 minutes. Take them out and peel them under running water. The skins should just come right off if they were charred enough.

Cut the tops and tips off, slit them in half, remove the seeds and membrane.

Dice them up (brunoise) and set them aside for now.

Dice an onion and saute it in some butter until it's soft. Add two cloves of roughly chopped garlic, half a shallot (diced) and the green chiles along with a cup of chicken broth/stock. Toss in 1/2 tsp each of cumin and chili powder and 1/4 tsp coriander.

Let this all come up to a boil, then toss in 2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken.

Toss to combine and let it cook off most of the liquid.

Remove from the heat and let cool. This is your filling for the enchiladas.



In a sauce pan, put 4 oz of cream cheese (I used 1/3 fat, it's fine for flava), 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup shredded cheese (any mexican friendly cheese will do), 1 can of green chiles (or 2 more roasted chiles), a splash of white wine (optional, but I like it), a pat of butter, 1/4 tsp cumin and a shake of salt/pepper.

*Note on the sauce. I usually vary this with what I have. Sometimes I use sour cream also, just didn't have any today. I actually think it's better with some SC, so just throw in a tablespoon to the mix. This is not an exact science and almost always turns out good.

Let this come to a sloooow simmer stirring constantly, or it'll stick to the bottom.

Get your filling (you can make it ahead of time and put it in the fridge) and a 1/3 cup measuring cup. Put a pinch of cheese on each of 8 tortillas and 1/3 cup of filling and roll them up to fill a (greased) 9x13 baking dish.

Pour the cheese mixture over top and spread it evenly.

Pop it into a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or til it starts to bubble.

Consume.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Filling:

2 Green chiles, roasted and diced (or 1 can of diced green chiles)

1 Diced onion

2 Cloves of garlic

1 Cup chicken broth/stock

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp coriander

2 Cups cooked chicken
Salt/pepper to taste

Sauce:
4 oz of cream cheese
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded cheese (any mexican friendly cheese will do),
2 Green chiles, roasted and diced (or 1 can of diced green chiles)
Splash of white wine (optional)
1/4 tsp cumin
Salt/pepper to taste

Serve with refried or black beans, salsa, sour cream etc.