I’m going to a potluck on Sunday, and I’m a courtin’ a feller and would like to win his heart with food. I need an above and beyond enchilada recipe- no canned sauce or gobs of gooey cheese. I’m a good cook, and want something that shows off my abilities. I’ll have all day to cook.
That said, I don’t want to get too crazy fancy- no goat cheese, pine nut and arugula enchiladas. I’m from California, they’ll be plenty of Texans and dude is South American. I’m hoping for something with a healthy dose of respect for American Southwest traditions. That said, I’m in DC and I can’t just wander down to the Mexican grocers like I’m used to. Ingredients I can get at Safeway (or gasp whole foods) would be nice. Gah, I don’t think my local Safeway even has tomatillos. What’s wrong with this coast?
I’m not sure how much you’re wanting to deviate from the standard from reading your OP, but if you want to get a lil’ creative. . .
My favorite enchiladas are from this restaurant here in town: pepperjack enchiladas. They take carne asada and brown up little strips (I think they LIGHTLY dredge it in seasoned flour, then pan fry it). When I make this at home, I also saute up some onions and bell peppers cut into teensy pieces. Throw everything into the tortillas, wrap, place in the dish.
Then, make the cheese sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
4 ounces shredded monterey jack pepper cheese
Melt butter in a sauce pan.
With a whisk, mix in flour and allow to cook for about 1 minute.
Slowly whisk in milk.
Cook for 1 minute.
Add cheese, keep whisking until cheese melts.
The sauce isn’t gobby, OMG CHEESE, but rather a nice creamy sauce with kick. Totally different take on enchiladas, but super popular any time I’ve made them.
I could get to a Mt. Pleasant bodega if I had to, but I’m carless way out in Tenleytown, so it’d be a bit of a hike. Don’t even get me started on how the grocery stores out here don’t have any reasonable sourdough bread.
Have you checked out Rodman’s on 5100 Wisconsin Avenue? They tend to have a lot of more exotic foods although I’ve usually gone there for Italian things as opposed to Latin American groceries.
toast the chiles for a few seconds on each side (don’t let them burn it will give a bitter taste) using an iron skillet.
place toasted chiles in a shallow pan and cover with water. Simmer for about ten minutes or until the chiles are very soft. Let cool.
With about a half cup of water, blend the garlic and cloves in a blender. Then add the chiles one at a time, adding more water (usually about a cup) as needed. You don’t want a paste, you want something with a slightly thin consistency.
In a mesh strainer, strain the sauce (the skin of the gaujillo can be touch to digest) [this step is sort of optional imho]
Cook the sauce in a shallow pan with a bit of oil. After about 5 minutes or so the sauce should have a good consistency to cover submerged tortilla.
Dip a tortilla in the sauce, then fill as desired!
I like to fill with a mix of potatoes, onions and cheese.
I made some last month with homemade corn tortillas, and it’s worth the extra work. Best enchiladas I ever made. A tortilla press really cuts down on the work, but hand rolling them with a rolling pin isn’t too bad if you’re only doing a dozen or so. I also cooked chicken the day before into a kind of stew with onions, celery, peppers, cumin, oregano, etc. Using several kinds of cheese helps too. I used a gouda with cumin that was fantastic, but I buy it at a local farmers market, so that’s probably not much help.
sven, my knowledge of DC geography is not great, but when I stayed with my friend in Columbia Heights there were tons of signs in Spanish; I’m sure there are some good bodegas around there.
