Poblano Chicken Enchiladas

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Gluten-free/Nut-free

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Yield: 12 enchiladas/about 4 servings

Prep Time: 40-50 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Cutting board 

• Chef's knife 

• 12-inch skillet 

• 9 x 13-inch baking dish 

• Blender or food processor

The Recipe:

This recipe was inspired by a recipe from the website "Girl Gone Gourmet"

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

• 2 poblano peppers, seeds and white membrane removed and diced

• 1/2 of a medium-sized onion, chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour OR gluten-free flour

• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth or stock

• 1 1/4 cups milk

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt (more to taste)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped

• 12 corn tortillas

• 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese, optional

• Chopped cilantro and lime wedges for garnish, optional

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the diced poblano and chopped onion and cook, stirring often, until the pepper and onion have softened (6-8 minutes).

3. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds or until you can smell the garlic. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and stir. Once the butter has melted, sprinkle the flour on top of the veggies and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.

4. Slowly add the chicken broth while continuing to stir. Once you have added all of the chicken broth, carefully transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

5. Return the sauce to your pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the milk and reduce the heat slightly. Keep at a low simmer, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened up a bit. If the simmer gets too aggressive, reduce the heat.

6. Add the Kosher salt, cumin, and coriander and stir to combine. Taste your poblano sauce at this point and determine if more salt or seasonings are needed. Once you are satisfied, remove the sauce from the heat.

7. Stack 12 corn tortillas on a plate and microwave for 1 minute.

8. Spread about 1 cup of poblano sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

9. Working with one tortilla at a time, add about 1/4 cup of your cooked chicken shreds or pieces down the center of the warmed tortilla. If desired, sprinkle about a tablespoon of Mexican-blend cheese on top of the chicken (this is optional). Tightly roll the tortilla around the filling, then place seam-side down in your prepared dish. Your instinct will be to line the tortillas up in 1 row down the length of the longer side of the dish; however 2 rows of 6 tortillas fit perfectly across the width/short side, so I would recommend that instead. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

10. Pour remaining poblano sauce over top of enchiladas, using a rubber spatula to spread the sauce to completely cover the top of each enchilada. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella evenly over the top of the enchiladas (I don't ever really measure this, as I think one must measure cheese with their heart and it might be wholly dependent upon what kind of day you're had).

11. Cover dish with a piece of aluminum foil that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake until cheese has melted, about 10-15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the sauce is bubbling around the edges, 5-8 minutes more. I like to get a little bit of a toasty color on top of my enchiladas as well before removing from the oven.

12. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

To Serve: Serve these enchiladas sprinkled with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime, if desired. I also like to eat them with sliced avocado if I have it on hand. These are VERY mild, so if you are looking to add some spice you could throw some shakes of your favorite hot sauce on top as well.

Adjusting for your diet: These enchiladas could easily be made vegetarian by substituting a bean such as pinto or black beans for the chicken, or omitting the chicken all together.

Tips:

• I love using store-bought rotisserie chicken for this recipe; it really helps the meal come together pretty quickly and since I won't use all of the meat in this recipe, I can make that chicken pull double-duty and use the rest of the meat in another meal that week. If you have the time and desire, of course you can also prepare chicken breasts yourself to use.

• I HIGHLY recommend using corn tortillas over flour when making enchiladas. Any time I have used flour, they seem to really soak up the sauce and cheese and the texture gets quite soggy and unappealing.

• If you have used corn tortillas in the past and found yourself frustrated because they break or split apart the second you try to manipulate them, microwaving the tortillas for 1 minute completely solves that problem. The tortillas will be warm, pliable, and should not break.

• I usually use yellow onions in this recipe, but I'm sure you could substitute red or white if it's what you have on hand.

• I do not think the fat content of your milk makes a big difference here; use what you have. I use 2% because it's what I generally have on hand.

• Different cheeses could be used; I like the combo of the Mexican blend and mozzarella personally, but you could try Monterey Jack, pepper jack, cheddar, etc.

• I like my enchiladas extra cheesy, but if you don't you could absolutely leave out the step of putting cheese inside the enchiladas and just put the cheese on top.

• A different protein could be used in place of the chicken if you are not a fan. I think shredded pork would be fantastic here.

• There's definitely some room to play with your filling here; I've thought of adding a little corn or finely chopped red bell pepper along with the chicken.

• If everyone eating your enchiladas is good with cilantro you could mix it right into the sauce. One of my kids is sensitive to it, so I like to leave it on the side whenever I can or he won't be too big of a fan of the dish.

The Story:

The first time I made these enchiladas was last summer; I simply could not walk past a table at the farmer's market that was filled with baskets of gorgeous, shiny poblano peppers without making a purchase. Poblano peppers are an extremely mild variety of chili peppers that are rich in vitamins A and C as well as some compounds that may fight inflammation and act as antioxidants (plus they're quite pretty). Since it's the farmer's market, I couldn't buy just one pepper, so I think I took home a basket of 4 or 5 of them.

After poking around a few resources for some ideas on what to do with my dark green gems, I found a lovely-sounding recipe for chicken enchiladas bathed in a rich poblano sauce. I am a massive fan of enchiladas, so this looked like a great recipe to mess around with. Upon our first few bites at the dinner table, my daughter proclaimed these to be the BEST enchiladas I had ever made (girlfriend has a very low spice tolerance, so normally when I serve enchiladas she is taking quite a few slugs of milk along the way...). I am a bit of a purist, so I don't know that I completely agreed with her since these are not your traditional enchiladas, but they were pretty dang good. Creamy, flavorful, cheesy, and mild; these Poblano Chicken Enchiladas make a beautiful dinner worthy of serving to company.

In my opinion, this dish feels like a great "gateway food" to get a somewhat-picky eater or someone who doesn't do well with spicy foods to try some Mexican fare. The prep is fairly minimal, especially if you're using store-bought rotisserie chicken, and you could even put your whole dish of enchiladas together on a Sunday night, store them in the fridge, and then have a nice easy dinner to pop in the oven on Monday.

What do you think of non-traditional enchiladas? I love a dark red, spicy enchilada sauce, but these Poblano Chicken Enchiladas really satisfy my enchilada cravings!

Happy tasting!