Enchiladas are one of those dishes that everyone loves but nobody makes.  We all love our tacos and quesadillas because they each make for a quick weeknight meal or after school snack. Enchiladas on the other hand require a little more assembly, a sauce and then need to be baked.  The four components of an enchilada are the tortilla (I prefer corn but flour also works), filling, sauce and cheese.  The filling can be almost anything including chicken, beef, tofu, beans, rice and sweet potatoes which is why employing leftovers can be super helpful in making enchiladas on a busy weeknight. You can sometimes find pre made sauce at the grocery store if you want to make even lighter work of your prep.  The assembly can also put people off so I suggest building a layered enchilada in a baking pan and forgo all the rolling and finicky work of making sure they stay in place and don’t break open.

This particular recipe has been inspired by my many trips to Mexico where I have enjoyed many meals and cooking classes.  This is a classic filling that I have had so many times while in Mexico and is different than your average chicken or rice filling.  While I adore using dry chillies like ancho and guajillo, I opted to keep them out of the sauce recipe because not everyone has access to these ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

To make this recipe you will need

1 batch chorizo and potato filling

1 batch enchilada sauce

12 corn tortillas

2 cups shredded Monterey jack

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup chopped green (or red) pepper

Chorizo and potato filling

3 fresh chorizo sausages (about 500g)

1 large russet potato

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place a skillet over medium heat. Remove the chorizo from the casing and add the meat to the hot skillet and discard the casing. Cook the sausage while breaking it up with a wooden spoon until cooked through and golden brown.

2. Pierce the potato with a fork all over and cook in the microwave for 5-7min or until tender inside.* Allow the potato to cool slightly and then peel and discard the skin. Cut the potato into small dice and mix into the chorizo.

Enchilada sauce

3 Roma tomatoes, cut in half

1 white onion, cut in quarters

2 jalapeno peppers, cut in half

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1  1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1. Place a heavy bottomed skillet (cast iron works best) on medium-high heat and add the tomatoes, onion and jalapenos.  Cook the vegetables until they are slightly blackened on all surfaces and soft.  This will take about 15min.  Add the garlic to the pan and cook for another 4min until browned and softened.

2. Add the charred vegetables to a blender jar along with the remainder of the ingredients.  Blend until all the vegetables are pureed and you have a homogenous sauce.

To assemble

Preheat the oven to 350F

1. Mix 1/3 of a cup of enchilada sauce into the chorizo and potato filling.

2. Cover the bottom of an 8×11 baking dish with about 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce.  Begin with a layer of  4-5 tortillas.  You will want to use the tortillas mostly whole but then cut one as needed to fill in the open edges and spaces, ensuring the bottom of the pan is covered. Spread another 1/4 cup of sauce on top of the tortillas.

3. Use half the chorizo and potato filling to top the tortillas and then scatter a third of the cheese on top of  the chorizo filling.  Cover with another layer of tortillas, followed by more sauce, the remainder of the chorizo filling, another third of the cheese and finally a layer of tortillas. Cover the last layer in more sauce and the remainder of cheese.

4. Cook for 25min until the cheese is bubbly and brown. Rest for 10min before serving.

5. Garnish with peppers and cilantro and serve.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

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