Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Serves four

To learn more, read:
Cooking with Fresh Green Chiles
by Robb Walsh
from Fine Cooking
Issue 73
Last Edit Date: 3/6/2013 4:27:54 PM

Green chiles and chicken is a favorite combination in West Texas and New Mexico, where these stacked enchiladas are more common than the rolled kind. The chicken can also be cooked under the broiler or on a grill pan, and you can make the sauce ahead.

more about:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 Tbs. olive oil; more as needed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 small (5-1/2- to 6-inch) corn tortillas
Green Chile Sauce, heated
6 oz. grated Monterey Jack cheese (2 lightly packed cups)
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Tip:

Variation: Use small gratin dishes to make individual servings.

Heat a gas grill to medium high or build a medium-hot charcoal fire. Coat the chicken with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken breasts until just cooked through, 4 to 5 min. per side. When cool enough to handle, slice into thin strips. Heat the oven to 450°F.

In a small skillet, heat the 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot (dip the edge of a tortilla in to check; it should sizzle straight away). Using tongs, set a tortilla in the hot oil and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, 15 to 20 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels to cool and drain. If the pan gets dry, add another tablespoon of oil.

In a baking dish large enough to accommodate four separate stacks of tortillas (a 10x15-inch Pyrex dish is good), ladle a thin layer of sauce. Lay four tortillas in the dish and ladle about 1/2 cup of sauce over them. Divide half the chicken among the first layer of tortillas and top with another 1/2 cup of sauce and a third of the cheese. Stack on another four tortillas, and top with the rest of the chicken, then more sauce and another third of the cheese. Finish with a third tortilla layer, and top with the remaining sauce and cheese. Bake until the sauce has thickened somewhat, about 20 min. The edges of the top tortilla in each stack will turn golden, but if they look like they’re drying out too much or burning, occasionally spoon some sauce over them. Let rest for 5 to 10 min. before serving. To serve, transfer each stack with a spatula to a dinner plate. Spoon any sauce left in the baking dish over the stacks and sprinkle with chopped cilantro if you like.

nutrition information (per serving):
Size : based on four servings; Calories (kcal): 605; Fat (g): 30; Fat Calories (kcal): 265; Saturated Fat (g): 11; Protein (g): 36; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 13; Carbohydrates (g): 54; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 4; Sodium (mg): 790; Cholesterol (mg): 74; Fiber (g): 9;

Photo: Scott Phillips

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by lucyg22, 5/6/2012We really liked this, even though I made a streamlined version with store-bought salsa verde, flour tortillas (heated in a dry skillet) and broiled chicken. It was delicious and easy.

by kzatrini, 4/26/2011This recipe is amazing and the chile sauce is definitely worth making. For the sauce, I roasted 2 jalapenos on a charcoal grill along with the anaheim chilis then pureed the jalapenos with the tomatillos and it came out great.

by ronnielj52, 8/4/2009RE: green chile sauce... I didn't have Anaheim peppers on hand and roasted 3 jalapeno's w/1 & 1/2 lbs. banana peppers on the grill instead. Before roasting the peppers, I dropped them in a plastic zip lock bag w/x-tra virgin olive oil and kosher salt and rubbed the peppers for about 5 minutes. Zippy, but delicious! The green sauce became creamy while baking the enchiladas and oozed out around the edges. Toward the end of the baking, I let the (homemade corn) tortilla shells become slightly crispy on the edges which provided a nice contrast while eating. My husband and son loved this dish. Served it with homemade refried beans, moist jasmine rice, garden fresh salad greens w/tomatoes and radish. What a treat for the palate!!! This recipe is going into my personal cookbook album for sure. PS-I found the enchiladas only needed about 15 minutes to bake!

by Vision, 5/13/2009Excellent - sauce is worth making and can be made ahead

by andre40, 3/11/2009Excellent recipe. Very good flavors. Good recipe to use with left over chicken breasts. We thought making the sauce was too much effort though, so now we buy the Old El Paso Green Chile Sauce in the can. Tastes just as good.

by sewapel, 1/19/2009