Enchiladas, another attempt

After my last attempt at enchiladas (and my ranting about never being able to find a recipe I was happy with) a friend and former colleague sent me a message letting me know she would share with me her tips and techniques for enchilada making.  The recipe met my needs for trying to make the enchiladas mostly from scratch and after LJ took her first bite she looked at me and said "These taste right!"  I think we were looking for enchiladas that resembled a style that we would get at a traditional Mexican restaurant.

Below are the instructions from our friend. They are informal but should give you an idea of how to proceed in your own attempts.  We added ground beef and beans to our first attempt.


Warm up oil in a large skillet (I use canola) sauté onions and garlic- half of a small onion, couple cloves

Add a handful of flour. A good handful should make plenty of sauce- you can’t add flour later
Brown the flour and add red chili powder, like 2 tablespoons (you can start with less and add later) and a teaspoon of ground cumin

Make sure you use the right kind of red chili powder- not the kind you’d use to make menudo (I use New Mexico, but California’s good too). There’s usually an option for hot or mild and it’s in the Mexican/ethnic isle in a little clear, cellophane pouch. Cost like a buck. 

Now add warm water, like 2 cups at least (add more as needed). The pan will be hot so you may need to lift or move the pan off the heat while you add the water. Use a fork or whisk to stir and break down the lumps. Add salt to taste, you’ll need a bit- I use Kosher and just eyeball it. Let simmer.

The consistency should be like a bisque. 

Now grab a cookie sheet or baking pan, spatula and corn tortillas. You’ll need to grate a lot of cheese (cheddar or Colby)- ¾ish of a large block. 

You need to keep the sauce on the burner and have everything next to that- assembly line.

Put the tortilla in the sauce completely covering the tortilla and use the spatula to take it out once it is soft- this shouldn’t take long since the sauce is at a low simmer.

Place the tortilla on the sheet, add cheese and roll- this is messy. Continue to do this until you are almost out of sauce. When you have all your enchiladas rolled up sprinkle cheese over the whole deal and pan over the rest of the sauce/onions.

  

Put the pan in the oven- bake at 350 for 10 minutes or so

When plating the enchiladas, I cut up lettuce, tomatoes and onion (salad) and put right on top of the enchiladas. Sometimes I’ll get some crème fresco and/or avocado.