.png)
Texas Enchiladas -- Pat’s Easy Specialty
I learned this Texas-Anglo enchilada dish during my Atlanta
days from a friend who had grown up in Dallas. Pat, a professional woman and
avid soccer player, professed to dislike cooking. She certainly disliked being
fussy or spending unnecessary time in the kitchen. But her “go-to” guest dish,
a Mexican-influenced, family favorite from her childhood, made Pat seem quite
the chef.
Enchiladas, traditional in Mexico and the American
Southwest, and a mainstay at Mexican-American restaurants, are basically
tortillas wrapped around a filling and baked covered with a chile-containing
sauce and cheese. Mexican enchiladas are
typically made with corn tortillas. Pat’s use flour ones. And enchiladas would
generally be baked covered with cheese plus a red or green chile sauce. Pat’s
are covered with a dairy and cream soup mixture. In Mexico, white enchiladas,
though infrequent, are made, though with corn tortillas. They are sometimes
called “Suizas” (meaning “Swiss-style”),
indicating milk and cheese rather than red or green salsa.
Beer would be the
drink for a dish like this in either Texas or Mexico, a lager type of beer, not
a hoppy IPA. But a Chardonnay will work too.
The recipe serves a
crowd, at least six people, generously. Leftovers are nice. A colorful
vegetable, some avocado, and maybe a simple lettuce and tomato salad would be
attractive accompaniments.
1 rotisserie
chicken
1-1/2 teaspoons
salt for chicken
3/4 teaspoon black
pepper
2 (4-ounce) cans
jalapeño peppers, diced or sliced
8 (8-9-inch –
fajita size) flour tortillas
1 (10-1/2-ounce)
can Campbell’s condensed cream of chicken soup (if unsalted, add extra 1/2
teaspoon salt)
1 soup-can’s volumn
of water
1 soup-can’s volumn
of milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
for the sauce
12 ounces shredded
Mexican-style cheese or mixed mozzarella and cheddar cheese
Sour cream for
serving
Cut meat off
chicken. (Reserve skin and bones for broth for other uses.) Pull meat apart
into long pieces. Sprinkle chicken evenly with the salt and pepper. Toss to
mix.
Drain jalapeños. If
slices, chop them coarsley.
Lightly oil a 9 by
13-inch casserole dish or pan. Set oven for 375 degrees.
Lay tortillas out
on flat surface. Place chicken down the middle of each. Sprinkle evenly with
canned chilies. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Roll up tortillas and arrange in
a single layer in the pan, seam side down.
In bowl, whisk
together condensed soup, water and milk, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spoon mixture
evenly over the enchiladas. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (If desired,
the casserole can be refrigerated at this point and baked closer to dinner
time.)
Bake until
thoroughly heated, bubbling and beginning to turn golden on top, 35-45 minutes.
Serve, accompanied
with sour cream.
