Cheese Enchiladas
My family is from El Paso, Texas, and enchiladas are a staple there during Lent. We eat enchiladas, chile rellenos, fish soup and capirotada(a tasty bread pudding) all through lent, but since I have moved to Fort Worth, the only way we can enjoy those authentic flavors is by making them in our own kitchen. I will provide a recipe for homemade red enchilada sauce, as it isn’t too difficult, but I will also include a, Mexican family approved, cheat. This cheat will make enchilada night the easiest night to do in a pinch!
You will need corn tortillas; I recommend Guerrero or Banderita brand tortillas. you can find these at Walmart. For the pot of red enchilada sauce that is needed to make the enchiladas I have found that there are two canned brands that not only work but fool my husband. These brands are Las Palmas and La Victoria, both of these can be found at Walmart as well. You will also need cheese; asadero cheese is great but not easy for everyone to buy, you can use muenster, Monterey jack, queso quesadilla cheese or mozzarella. you need to have a towel for your tortillas if you don’t have a cloth tortilla warmer, a small frying pan, oil (I use EVOO but it is normally made with canola oil), and a baking dish or aluminum pan to place rolled enchiladas in.
Traditionally I would warm my tortillas on a comal as the first step, but a good friend of mine from Mexico told me that you can just put them in your cloth warmer or a folded towel and microwave them for about a minute or so. You are just trying to make the tortillas soft and pliable. Then you have your frying pan with the bottom covered in oil and set to a medium high heat. No grease should be popping in your face! Next to your pan is a pot of sauce that is already warm. I always put my dish for the rolled enchiladas next to the stove with a bowl of shredded cheese. When your oil is hot, you dip your tortillas as far as you can without burning your fingers (tongs are an option as well) into the oil, it will bubble and toast the tortilla, turn the tortilla to warm the other side (just a few seconds per side) then transfer tortilla to sauce dipping well enough to coat the tortilla with sauce. Now, we lay our tortilla in the dish, fill it with cheese and roll it up. When your dish is filling up, it is perfectly acceptable to assemble the enchiladas right on top of the already rolled enchiladas. once you have a full dish, you can drizzle extra sauce of the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle extra cheese on top as well. I like to use melty cheese like muenster, but some people prefer queso fresco. if you need to warm them a bit to melt the cheese, you are welcome to through them in a warm oven for a bit or heat them up in the microwave. If your family likes onions make sure to chop some up and mix it in with your cheese for filling, it is also tasty to throw them over the top of the enchiladas with the cheese.
