Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Creamy Roasted Poblano Enchiladas

As per request, here's the recipe for the enchiladas we had for dinner, with the following disclaimer:
When I cook I don't measure. I eyeball. After cooking dinner for myself and my family for 15 years or so, I have a pretty good eye for how much of what goes in to certain recipes and I'm too lazy to wash the extra dishes, so this is my best guess at quantities.
1.5-2 lbs cooked and shredded chicken
1 box Neufchatel Cheese (or cream cheese)
2/3 cup (approximately) chicken broth
2 large or 3 small poblano chiles
Juice of 1/2 lime (or 2 key limes)
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/3-1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded mozarella
Salt, Oregano, garlic to taste. I used approximately 1-2 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp oregano, and 2 tsp. garlic powder
package 20 Corn tortillas

Preparing Chiles: The key to this recipe is preparing the chiles, which sounds really tricky but is surprisingly simple. Wash the chiles and LIGHTLY coat them with olive oil. If you don't have olive oil, skip the oil part.
Put them on a broiler-safe pan and pop them in the broiler. Keep a very close eye on them (3-5 minutes or so). When they start to get toasty and brown, flip them, and brown the other side. When the chiles are evenly toasted all around, take them out of the oven and put them in a plastic bag. Tie the bag shut. Let them stand for about 10-15 minutes to sweat. You do this because most chiles have a thick waxy skin that is very unpleasant to eat. Toasting the skin softens it, and sweating the chiles loosens it up. Prepare the rest of the enchilada sauce while your chiles are sweating. When the chiles are ready, run cool water over them and gently rub the skin off. If a little bit of the flesh of the chile comes off with the skin, don't worry about it. I usually lose about 25-30% of the chile. Poblanos are pretty potent, so the 70-75% that makes it into the recipe is more than enough. This is the best time to remove the stem and seeds of the chile, as well. Be careful with the seeds. They contain capsaicin, which is the chemical which makes chiles hot. If your skin starts to burn, wash your hands really thoroughly with dish soap. It is an oily substance that has to be broken down with strong, moisturizer free soap. This almost never happens to me, but just in case, now you know what to do.

If this process sounds too tricky or intimidating, skip it and buy a couple of cans of canned green chiles from the Latin foods aisle at the supermarket. It won't taste the same, but it'll still be yummy.

Mix the Neufchatel, cilantro, sour cream, chicken broth, lime juice, salt, oregano, and garlic in a large-ish bowl. When the Poblanos are ready, dice them and add them in. Mix REALLY well. The mixture should be approximately the consistency of thin yogurt. It should be fairly light and fluffy. If it's too thick, add more chicken broth. If it's too thin, add more sour cream.

Warm the tortillas up in the microwave. Always warm tortillas before you make enchiladas. It makes the process WAAAAY easier. Dip the tortillas in the sauce, and then roll them up in a casserole dish with the chicken and a little bit of the shredded cheese inside... just like any other chicken enchilada recipe. Make sure you reserve about 1/2 of the cheese. When your pan is filled, dump the rest of the enchilada sauce on the top and spread it out evenly. Top it with the remaining cheese.

Cover with foil, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, until it gets nice and bubbly. Remove the foil and broil for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned. Serve hot.

Yay! Enchiladas!

1 comment:

The Masons said...

Thank you Camillle! This looks delicious! I am definitely intimidated by the poblanos...but I'm going to attempt it next time I'm feeling brave ;)