Growing up in England I can honestly say I never had good Mexican food. The UK’s version of Mexican food is fairly lacking. A box of Old El Paso is as good as it gets, along with a couple of fairly tragic Mexican restaurants.
London is brimming with culture and bursting with incredible food from all over the world don’t get me wrong. But for some reason we can not get Mexican food right there. One of the main reasons being that it’s pretty impossible to buy tomatillos anywhere. Which is a key ingredient in this dish and so many more.
When I moved to LA and finally had good Mexican food I was completely blown away and made it my mission to master cooking it myself at home.
I love tacos, burritos, all the things. But there is a special place in my heart for enchiladas. They are just so comforting, flavorful and super easy to make.
So here is my recipe for enchiladas verdes.
This recipe makes 8-12 enchiladas
You will need:
4 large organic chicken breasts
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
8-12 flour tortillas (you can use low carb or gf tortillas too)
1 cup Mexican blend cheese
1/3 cup cotija cheese
cilantro to garnish
For the sauce:
2lbs tomatillos
1 cup chicken broth
1 jalapeño
4 cloves garlic
1/2 sweet onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup cilantro
1 lime, juiced
2-3 tsp maldon sea salt (more if needed)
Bake the tomatillos in the olive oil with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes until browned and softened.
Place in a blender and add in the garlic cloves, onion, chicken broth, jalapeño (de-seeded if too spicy), cilantro, lime juice and maldon sea salt. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
Next, boil the chicken breasts in a pot covered with water, a squeeze of lime juice and some salt. Boil for 20 minutes until cooked through.
Place the chicken breasts in a kitchen aid mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until shredded.
Once shredded, add in 1 cup of your green sauce to the chicken mixture as well as the cumin and garlic powder and mix to combine.
Now it’s time to assemble the enchiladas with the flour tortillas.
Place about 2 tbsp of the chicken mixture down the center of a tortilla and roll it up.
Repeat this step until all the chicken and tortillas are gone.
Place each tortilla wrap in to a glass baking dish. Pour over the remainder of the enchilada sauce to cover. Sprinkle with the Mexican blend cheese.
Bake in the overnight at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the finely crumbled cotija cheese and dust with the fresh cilantro.
Serve with limes, sour cream, refried beans, rice, some guacamole and enjoy this cheesy feast!
Vegetarian option:
Shredded zucchini enchiladas
Instead of the shredded chicken I sometimes like to make these with a little grated zucchini hash instead. It's so flavorful and you don't miss the chicken at all. You can also add in a little orangic corn and diced bell pepper with some diced onion and taco seasoning.
Here's the recipe:
2 zucchini, grated and squeezed out with cheese cloth or paper towel to get rid of any excess liquid.
1 can organic corn or 2 ears of corn on the cob, cut off
1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, cubed
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsp taco seasoning (I like the siete one)
Olive oil
Salt/pepper
Sauté it all together until softened for about 3-5 minutes in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Then add it in to the tortilla as you would the chicken and roll it up. Top with regular cheese or vegan cheese and bake it in exactly the same way.
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