Enchilada Verde Recipe

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My Enchilada Verde recipe is inspired by a restaurant that I used to go to in my hometown in Southern California. It was a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant where they served chips with WARM salsa. That’s how I knew I was in the right spot! I ordered their green enchiladas with shredded beef and I knew that that would be my go-to dish every time I visited. The beef was seasoned to perfection and the cheese was perfectly melted.

Since moving away, I knew I had to re-create these delectable enchiladas. Tomatillos are naturally kind of tart, so having the salt and spice from the jalapeño in this recipe helps balance everything out.

And If you don’t think you can cook or even make this recipe, listen anyone can cook, I promise. You just have to start. My best tip for making any savory dish come to life is to always refer to these 4 elements: SALT, FAT, ACID, and HEAT. As long as you have all 4 of those, your dish is sure to be a success!

I can go a little more in-depth on this technique in another post, just let me know. Once you hear the details of what I mean, you will instantly grow as a cook and every dish you make will be completely elevated.

So, without further ado, here is the Enchilada Verde Recipe…

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 – 2lbs meat of choice (chicken or beef, seasoned and cooked until shreddable)
  • Salt
  • 1.5 lbs. tomatillos
  • 1 large jalapeno
  • 1 medium white or yellow onion (cut in half)
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 small bunch of cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon Knorr Chicken Bouillon
  • 1 tsp. Coriander
  • 1 tsp. Cumin
  • 1 tsp. Ground Mexican oregano
  • About 12-14 corn tortillas
  • 1/4 cup vegetable or avocado oil
  • 1 lb. Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
  • 1 lb. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 3/4 cup queso fresco
  • Mexican Crema for garnish

Instructions:

  1. In a saucepan, combine chicken breast or beef with water until just covering the protein, one-half onion, a clove of garlic, and 3 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Reserve broth, set chicken or beef aside to cool, and discard onion and garlic. When cool enough to handle, shred meat with your hands or 2 forks.
  2. On a baking sheet, place tomatillos (husks removed), jalapeño, and half an onion, and roast in the oven at 400* for about 12 minutes or until the tomatillos have turned to an army green color. Lower oven heat to 350*
  3. Place veggies in a blender and add 2 garlic cloves, coriander, ground Mexican oregano, cumin, chicken bouillon powder, and half bunch of cilantro. Add in some of the reserved liquid from the saucepan and blend until smooth.
  4. Pour oil into a frying pan, and allow it to get very hot. Slightly fry tortillas one by one in hot oil, setting each on a paper towel afterward to soak some of the oil.
  5. Pour some of the sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Fill tortillas with shredded chicken or beef, along with a mixture of the shredded cheese. Do not overfill or they won’t roll up properly. After all tortillas are filled and rolled, top with more sauce (you can reserve some for garnish later also) and add the rest of the shredded cheese on top.
  6. Cover the dish with foil. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is fully melted.
  7. Allow the dish to rest for about 10 minutes
  8. Top with crumbled queso fresco, chopped cilantro, and drizzle with crema
  9. Enjoy!

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