Stacked Enchiladas de Manchego
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:
30 dried red chiles, such as New Mexican, pasilla, or guajillo
3 cups water
1 onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp dried oregano, crumbled
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp coarse salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
For the Enchiladas:
1 1/4 lbs Mexican Manchego or Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 medium tomato, diced
8 jalapeno chiles, stemmed and thickly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
Canola or vegetable oil for frying
24 corn tortillas
1 cup crumbled panela or farmer’s cheese
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Instructions:
To make the sauce, wash the chiles and remove their stems, seeds, and veins. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and add the chiles. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand 1 hour or until softened. Drain, reserving the soaking water.
Combine the chiles and 2 cups of their soaking water in a blender with the onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, sugar, salt, and pepper. Puree until smooth, adding a bit more of the reserved water if necessary.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Pour in the chile sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings, remove from the heat, and cover to keep warm.
To make the enchiladas, combine the Manchego cheese, onion, jalapenos, and cilantro in a bowl. Toss well.
In a large skillet, heat 1 inch of oil over medium-high heat. Fry the tortillas, one at a time, about 30 seconds, or until slightly golden but still pliable. Drain on paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Dip a tortilla in the pan of sauce to coat lightly and then place on a large baking sheet. Scatter about 2 Tbsp of the cheese mixture over the tortilla. Dip another tortilla, place it over the first, and top with more cheese. Repeat with 2 more tortillas. Then repeat the procedure until all of the tortillas have been layered into 6 stacks. Transfer to the oven to warm through and melt the cheese.
To serve, lightly coat six dinner plates with the chile sauce. With a spatula, transfer the stacks to the plates. Top each with a little more sauce, some of the crumbled panela and a few sprigs of cilantro. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.
From Cooking With Too Hot Tamales by Milliken and Feniger.