Red Chile Enchiladas
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
For the enchiladas:
3/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese
2/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon sal
t 2 cups Red Chile Sauce (see recipe below)
Cooking spray
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extrasharp cheddar cheese
For the sauce:
5 dried red New Mexico chiles (about 1 1/4 ounces)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 cups water
1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon masa harina
Instructions:
For sauce:
Remove stems and seeds from chiles and coarsely chop. Place chiles in a spice or coffee grinder. Process until finely ground to measure 1/4 cup.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to pan. Cook 3 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Add ground chiles and stir well. Stir in 1 cup chicken broth. Add the remaining 1 cup chicken broth, 2 cups water, dried oregano, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 3 cups (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally.
To make the enchiladas:
Sprinkle masa harina over chile mixture and stir well. Bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thick, and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Place half of the chile mixture in a blender. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape). Secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Process until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with the remaining chile mixture.
Preheat oven to 400°.
Place cottage cheese in a food processor process 1 minute or until smooth. Combine cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, onion, and salt, stirring well. Spread 1/4 cup Red Chile Sauce in bottom of an 8 x 8-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 tortillas over sauce, overlapping slightly. Spread 1/2 cup cottage cheese mixture evenly over tortillas and top with 1/2 cup Red Chile Sauce. Repeat the layers once with 4 tortillas, remaining cottage cheese mixture, and 1/2 cup Red Chile Sauce. Arrange remaining 4 tortillas over sauce, overlapping slightly spoon remaining 3/4 cup Red Chile Sauce over tortillas. Sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese. Cover and bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 squares.
From Bill Jamison and Cheryl Alters Jamison, Cooking Light