Myriam Escobar, an Avera Specialty Hospital Food Ambassador, is a Santiago, Chile, native. So what led her to share a dish best known from Mexico? Her husband, Jorge.
“This was the first meal I made for him. I looked it up and learned it,” Escobar said, referring to her chicken enchiladas recipe. She makes her own salsa verde, which she uses to season the dish well. She shares the recipe with simple detail, so if you don’t blend the tomatillos or carefully fry the tortillas before assembly, it’ll still taste great.
There’s no wrong way to make it, yet she encourages you to experiment. “You can use a jar or can of salsa verde, but you should add to it, with chiles, onion, garlic and bell pepper, and then process it all in a blender.”
Green Enchiladas with Chicken
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Enchiladas
- 8 flour tortillas (8-inch) or 12-16 corn tortillas (Myriam says corn is best)
- 1 pound cooked chicken (About 2 breasts cooked and shredded or 2½ cups chopped/shredded)
- ¼ cup diced onion (optional)
- 1 7-ounce can mild green chiles, drained
- 4 ounces (about half of one package) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3-4 cups shredded cheese, such as Colby jack, cheddar or mozzarella (or you can use Muenster or Mexican cheeses)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh cilantro (optional, for garnish)
For the Enchilada Sauce
- 1 16-ounce jar green enchilada sauce (or make your own green sauce)
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- For the sauce, in a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add salsa verde and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Take care as it will bubble and splatter if too hot or not stirred. Stir in broth and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, occasionally stirring.
- Remove from heat and let cool while making the chicken filling and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, add cooked chicken, green chiles, cream cheese, 1 cup shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
- Butter a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish, then add a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish.
- Fill warmed tortillas with about a half-cup of chicken filling, then roll them.
- In a small frying pan, heat cooking oil and lightly fry each filled tortilla to add crispness to the dish.
- Place each filled, fried enchilada seam-side down onto the sauce in baking dish. Top them with the remaining sauce and cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let rest and garnish with cilantro (if using) – serve with fresh salsa, crema fresca or hot sauce.
Nutrition Facts per Serving:
- Calories: 368
- Protein: 30.5g
- Carbohydrate: 20.2g
- Saturated Fat: 8.8g
- Cholesterol: 88.3mg
- Sodium: 961mg
- Dietary Fiber: 1.1g
- Fat: 16.7g
Source: Myriam Escobar, an Avera Specialty Hospital Food Ambassador
