Mary Navarette's Garlicky Enchiladas

Garlicky Chicken Enchiladas

This, as I mentioned on Twitter last weekend while making it, was the very first recipe that I ever made out of a cookbook as an adult. It’s in one of my most-favorite-ever cookbooks, The Farmhouse Cookbook. It was really fun going back and making the same dish again…it’s one of those recipes where I have literally been saying, “Oh! I need to make that again!” for about the last 15 (20!!@#!) years. I really need to stop procrastinating. Hmmm…maybe tomorrow?

Anyway. In this version, I substituted canned tomatoes for the fresh (if it is Summer, and you feel so inclined, use 2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes for the sauce). I used a full can of whole, peeled tomatoes and about one half of a leftover can of diced tomatoes that I needed to use up. I only used two jalapenos, but in retrospect, I think I should have used three. Daring!

This dish is a Project. I made it in steps, throughout a Sunday. It’s certainly not a quick weeknight meal, but it is a fairly enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I even made the tortillas! At first, I pressed them out with my tortilla press, but they did not get flat enough. So I ended up rolling them out as well. Next time, I’ll just use a rolling pin from the get-go. Let’s go!

Mary Navarette’s Garlicky Enchiladas
Adapted from a recipe in The Farmhouse Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis
For the chicken:
1 chicken (3-4 pounds)
1 whole head of garlic (unpeeled)
1 tbsp salt
1 cup pitted black olives, drained and roughly chopped
1/3 cup diced red onion

For the Sauce:
1 28 oz. can peeled tomatoes, tomatoes diced, juice reserved
2 tomatoes, diced (or 1/2 a 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes)
2-3 jalapeno peppers
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion (this can also be the remainder of the red onion you used in the chicken)
1 tsp chili powder
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

Assembling/Finishing:
8 flour tortillas (homemade? — see below)
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled

Garnishes:
Any or all — sour cream, diced avocado, cilantro, lime wedges, chopped jalapeno pepper, hot sauce, diced cherry tomatoes, etc…

The Chicken:
Okay….Rinse the chicken and pull out any surprises inside (the giblets, heart, etc…) and add it to a big pot, along with the whole garlic head. Cover with fresh, cold water and add the salt. Bring to a boil and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, about 30-45 minutes.

chicken enchiladas

Pull out the chicken and garlic and set aside until cool enough to handle. Reserve he broth. At this point you can also add some onion, carrot, and peppercorns to the broth and simmer it a bit longer and make some stock for cooking other things. That’s what I did. In fact, after I shredded up the chicken, I threw those bones in there and let it all simmer together for another hour and a half.

chicken enchiladas

After your chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat off it and squeeze all of the cooked garlic out of the cloves and add it the chicken. Toss in the olives and diced red onion. Your filling is done. Refrigerate until ready to use.

chicken enchiladas

The Sauce:
Turn on the broiler and put the peppers on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Broil until all blackened and charred. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap after you pull the peppers out of the oven. Let them steam for a few minutes, so that you can easily then pull the blackened skin off. Seed and dice the peppers and set aside.

chicken enchiladas

Add the oil to a large pot and saute the onions and garlic until soft, about 6-7 minutes over medium heat. Add the chili powder and diced jalapenos and cook for a couple more minutes.

chicken enchiladas

Add the tomatoes, about 1/4 cup of the juice and bring to boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to break up the tomatoes a bit. You can also use a blender or food processor here. You just want to break down some of the tomato chunks. If the sauce is too thick add a little of your chicken broth to thin it a bit. You might not need to do this…I didn’t have to add any extra liquid. Stir in the cilantro leaves. Taste again and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Sauce is ready.

Assemblege:
Okay! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Take a tortilla and dip it into the sauce. Add about a 1/8 of your filling and a small handful of cheese. Roll up and place seam-sise down in a large rectangular baking dish (a lasagna-sized pan works well). Repeat this step seven more times.

chicken enchiladas

You should have about a 1/2 cup or so grated cheese leftover. You may also have filling leftover. I’m sure you can find some sort of use for that! I know I have…

chicken enchiladas

Pour the sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the cotija cheese on top and bake uncovered for about 30-40 minutes. If you prefer your cheese topping less golden, cover with aluminum foil for the first 20 minutes of baking, then remove for the remainder of oven time.

chicken enchiladas

When done, remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before digging in. Serve with some refried beans on the side, maybe?

chicken enchiladas

Flour Tortillas
3 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup lard or vegetable shortening
1 cup plus 1 tbsp water

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Use your fingers to rub in the lard or shortening until it is well blended, but grainy (kind of like when making pie dough). You can also do this in a food processor (what I did). Add the water and mix until the dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Divide into 16 small balls. Cover with a damp towel and let rest 15 minutes.

chicken enchiladas

Roll out each ball to a thin, even circle about 6-8 inches in diameter. Place rolled out tortillas between paper towels, sheet of parchment, or wax paper.

chicken enchiladas

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and cook each tortilla about 40 seconds on the first side and 15 seconds on the second side. They should be very thin, so this part will go very quickly. Let cool on a wire rack and use eight for your enchiladas and the other eight for snacking.