Chicken Enchiladas Verde

The Boy has decreed that we will eat enchiladas (or pizza) whenever we watch football. Hence, another enchilada recipe.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS VERDE

A - Tomatillo sauce
3 lbs tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed off
6 cloves garlic, skins intact
4-8 jalapenos
2 tsp salt

B - Chicken
3 chicken breasts, scored and seasoned with 3 tsp salt
1/2 yellow onion, chopped in half
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the back of your knife

C - Tortilla
8-12 corn tortillas
Peanut or grapeseed oil

D - Garnishing
1 block queso blanco, crumbled
Sour cream, watered down
Cilantro, chopped

*****

A - Cut the tomatillos in half. On a baking tray lined with aluminium foil, place the tomatillos (cut side down), garlic cloves and jalapenos. Slide under the broiler until the tomatillos have charred slightly. Leave out until they are cool the the touch. Remove the garlic skins. De-seed the jalapenos. Put everything in the blender with 1 tsp of salt and pulse until well-pureed.

B - While the tomatillos are roasting, put the seasoned chicken breasts, onion and garlic in a saucepan. Just cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Take the cooked chicken breasts out, let it cool, and then shred them (I like to use two forks to do this). Dicing or cutting the chicken breasts in strips doesn't give the same texture. Take about 1/2 cup of the tomatillo sauce and mix it into the shredded chicken breasts.

C - Fry the tortillas. In a skillet, heat a few tablespoons of oil (I've experimented with different flavors of oil and like peanut oil best). Slide a tortilla into the hot oil - it should sizzle and pockets of air bubbles should start forming on the tortilla surface. Turn over with a flat spatula and fry the other side. I like to fry the tortillas until they are brown and toasty at the edges. Take out and rest on a paper towel. Do the same with the rest of the tortillas, stacking them up in between layers of paper towels.

(A healthy alternative: Wrap the tortillas - 5 in a batch - in a paper towel and nuke them in the microwave, 20 seconds per batch.)

D - Assembly. Pre-heat the oven at 200F. In a rectangular casserole dish, spread a thin layer of the tomatilla sauce. To make the enchiladas, take one tortilla and, in the center, place a heap of shredded chicken. Roll the tortilla up and place in the casserole dish, seam side down. Repeat with the other tortillas, arranging the rolled enchiladas neatly next to each other in the casserole dish.

When all the enchiladas have been rolled and arranged in the casserole dish, top them with the rest of the tomatilla sauce. Sprinkle over with the crumbled queso blanco (to taste; it does not have to cover the sauce). Bake until the queso has just melted (about 5 minutes).

Serve with sour cream and cilantro. We like frijoles as an accompaniment too.