Enchilada Recipe

Enchiladas…Traditional Mexican Dish

This enchilada recipe will give you a delicious traditional Mexican main dish and it is easy easy to prepare.

This traditional Mexican main dish can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or combinations.

An enchilada is a tortilla (typically a corn tortilla) rolled and stuffed, usually with a mixture containing meat and/or cheese and served with a sauce spiced with chilies.

The word enchilada literally means “seasoned with chilies”, and the traditional enchilada sauce is just that…dried red chili peppers soaked and ground into a sauce with other seasonings.

Red enchilada sauce may also be tomato-based with red chilies, while green enchilada sauce is usually made of tomatillos and green chilies.

Corn tortillas are usually fried in oil and then dipped in the chosen sauce before filling them.

But this recipe calls for flour tortillas. You can use either.

Fillings for enchiladas may be almost anything, depending on the cook’s taste and what is in the refrigerator.

Since the filling and sauce are prepared before assembling the enchiladas, baking in an oven serves to heat through rather than cook this Mexican dish.

This recipe uses Ancho chili powder in place of dried, soaked chilies to make the sauce.

Common garnishes are sour cream, lettuce, olives, chopped onions and fresh tomatoes.

Beef Enchilada Recipe

Preparation time: 40 minutes for Enchilada sauce. Makes about 10 enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 pound or more cooked shredded roast beef recipe (or substitute lean ground chuck)
1 small can sliced black olives
1-2 tablespoons raisins (optional but they add just a touch of sweetness)
8 ounces total shredded Cheddar and Jack cheese
Enchilada sauce, warmed, if prepared ahead
Ten 7-8-inch flour tortillas

Instructions:

Wrap tortillas in a foil and warm in 250 degree oven for 10-15 minutes
Combine Cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses in a bowl
Combine shredded beef, olives and raisins in a bowl
Pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a baking dish
Place 1/4 cup shredded beef mixture on each warm tortilla and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese, rolling and placing each side by side in the baking dish (seam side down)
Drizzle enough enchilada sauce over the rolled tortillas to moisten them but not in excess
Sprinkle with remaining cheese
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through

Bueno! You’re done!

American, or Southwestern-Style Enchiladas are a bit different.

Corn tortillas are used raw, instead of fried in oil, and are stacked flat in a casserole dish, and alternately layered with cooked, shredded chicken or beef, green chili strips, and grated Cheddar and Jack cheese.

All of this is covered with cream of chicken soup and topped with grated cheese, and the whole thing is baked uncovered until done.

When served, a generous stack is placed in the center of the plate, and a ring of shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes is added around the serving.