Salsa Verde Enchiladas

In honor of Cinco de Mayo yesterday we thought a Mexican recipe was appropriate.  If you like authentic Mexican food, this is a recipe you have to check out!  Paul, my fiance, LOVES Mexican and suggested one weekend that we try out a true, authentic recipe.  He found this one online and we have to say we were impressed - definite authenticity.  We served our salsa verde enchiladas with a side of cooked black beans with onions and cilantro.  Yum!

Servings:  4

Size:  3 enchiladas

Points Plus: 10 pp

Level of Difficulty:  Medium

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time:  35 minutes

Rating: 5 stars – Excellent
*Recipe from: allrecipes.com

Ingredient List:

2 bone-in chicken breast halves

2 cups chicken broth

White onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. salt

1 pound of fresh tomatillos, husks removed

5 Serrano peppers*

12 corn tortillas

1/8 cup olive oil

½ cup crumbled queso fresco

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine chicken breasts with chicken broth, ¼ of the onion, 1 clove of garlic and 2 tsp. salt.  Bring to a boil and then boil for 20 minutes.  Reserve broth, set aside chicken to cool and discard the onion and garlic.  When chicken has cooled, shred the chicken with 2 forks.

Place tomatillos and Serrano peppers in a pot with water, enough to cover them (some of the tomatillos will float a bit).  Bring to a boil, continue boiling until the tomatillos turn a different shade of green (they will start out as a bright green and turn to a dull, army green).  Strain tomatillos and peppers, place in a blender with another ¼ of the onion, 1 clove of garlic and a pinch of salt.  Pour in enough of the reserved chicken broth so the liquid covers the vegetables by about an inch in the blender.  Blend all ingredients until they are completely pureed.  Pour salsa into a medium saucepan and bring to a low boil.

Pour oil into a small frying pan; allow it to get very hot.  Slightly fry the tortillas one by one in the oil, setting each on a paper towel to absorb some oil after frying.  Finally dip the tortillas into the warmed salsa verde in the saucepan.  Place on plates, 3 tortillas per serving.  Assemble each enchilada by filling the tortillas with shredded chicken, some extra salsa verde sauce and rolling up. On top, add chopped onion, cilantro and crumbled queso fresco.

Tip:

*Note on the Serrano peppers.  The originally recipe calls for 5 peppers.  Unless you REALLY love spicy food, I would recommend scaling back on this. These are HOT enchiladas (I mean the recipe can’t say it’s authentic if it doesn’t have some heat to it!).  We have made this recipe twice, and used 3 peppers both times.  These peppers definitely have some kick!

XOXO Megan