Special Meal

Need a special dinner to make for Valentines Day tonight? Or just something yummy that doesn't involve cream of chicken soup? Then make this. Now.



Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa





Ingredients

Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, storebought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Sour cream, Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish
Guacamole, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa:
On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas:
Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish with sour cream, cilantro and tomato.



These were SO GOOD. I made the roasted tomatillo salsa the day before and just kept it in the blender jar in the fridge. Here are some recipe notes that I think you will want if you are going to try this at home.

• Make one and a half batches of the salsa. It is really good and you will probably want some more to garnish your enchiladas with or to dip chips in. I think that the one batch would probably BARELY give you enough.
• I don't have a gas stove, so I did has he suggests and just stuck them two at a time under the broiler until they just barely started to color. I don't know that it affected the flavor much, but it does give them some more color instead of just pale white.
• I used two rotisserie chickens. I figure that since I am not very good at getting every last peice of meat off of the carcass and the ones at Safeway are only 2 lbs, I would average the right amount of meat. I also shredded the chicken earlier in the day and kept it covered in the fridge so I wouldn't have so much to do in the evening.
• If you don't like things super spicey, take the seeds out of the jalapenos before you roast them. Since I did a batch and a half I roasted two jalapenos whole and I removed the seeds out of the last one.
• If you use the large tortillas like he suggests then bake them in your roasting pan. A 9x13 will not be big enough.
• A half pound of cheese is NOT enough. I used a full pound. Some people on the website used Pepper Jack because they REALLY like spice.

I filled my first two tortillas a little too full and I only ended up with nine enchiladas. But even feeding myself, Brian, two missionaries (with very good appetities), and giving a half of one to Joelle we had two and a half left over. They are HUGE. And really really really really good. I served these with Rice-A-Roni Mexican Rice. Real traditional, I know. But it's good. And is a nice compliment to these enchiladas.

I had come across several blogs where people had raved over the black beans on that same recipe page. I was all excited to make them and I followed the directions to a "t," But they just didn't turn out like I was hoping. Even after simmering for two hours (30 minutes longer than suggested) they still were a bit too firm for my taste. I guess I am just too accustomed to the mushy ones from the can. Oh, well.

Hope everyone has a fabulous Valentines Day! No super fancy meal for us tonight. I am doing steak and potato skins and french bread. And my potato skins are from the freezer aisle. Why reinvent the wheel?