Daring Cooks May – Stacked enchiladas

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The May 2010 Daring Cooks Challenge was hosted by Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food who chose a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo!

I was pretty excited to see this challenge as it is something I really enjoy both eating and making! Unfortunately, tomatillos (for the green chile sauce) are not yet in season here and I could not find any canned ones, so I chose a smokey chipotle enchilada sauce that I found on Texas Monthly.

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James Peytons’ chipotle enchilada sauce

Featured in the March 1991 issue of Texas Monthly
The cooking of Northern Mexico got its spark from ranching culture, in which food was prepared with indigenous ingredients and cooked over a wood fire.

Ingredients
•3 to 6 canned chipotle chiles; reserve adobo sauce
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•1 teaspoon cumin
•1 teaspoon oregano
•4 tablespoons butter
•4 tablespoons flour
•1 cup beef broth
•2 1/2 cups water
•6 tablespoons of reserved adobo sauce

Method
Rinse, seed, and chop chiles; use more chiles for hotter salsa. In molcajete or with mortar and pestle, grind garlic, cumin, and oregano. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Add flour, and cook over low to medium heat until it begins to brown and give off a nutty fragrance. Remove from heat, and add broth a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. Return to heat, and add water in a slow stream, stirring constantly. Add chiles, adobo sauce, and garlic mixture, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer uncovered, stirring often until sauce thickens, about 30 minutes.

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I happened to have some tomatoes and avocados on hand so I made a quick guacamole to serve with the meal.

For the stacked enchilada assembly, I used some ingredients we had on hand which were not in the original recipe – I substituted feta for the cheese inside and a hard Italian cheese for the Monterey Jack cheese on the outside.  I used some leftover black bean salsa in the layers instead of just the chipotle sauce.  Quite the international mélange of flavours but they all worked.

The result?

This was a great dish – smokey with a bit of heat (Neil would have probably liked it a bit spicier) and served with the tangy guacamole, it was a great combination.

Thanks Barbara and Bunnee for a great challenge – I will definitely be making the tomatillo green chile sauce when they are in season!

42 thoughts on “Daring Cooks May – Stacked enchiladas”

  1. This looks amazing. I had all the intentions of participation in the DK challenge, but I just had no access to half of the ingredients. Can you just mail me a slice of yours!

    Reply
  2. Your pictures look so colorful and wonderful and delicious! I love the choices of smoky sauce and the variety of cheeses you used, too – sounds like a great combination of flavors! Great job!!

    Reply
  3. These look great! Your sauce looks really good, but definitely try the tomatillo one when you can get fresh ones…it was really tasty!

    Reply
  4. I really like how you added your own twist to the challenge and used what you had on hand and it sounds like is was delicious well done on this challenge. Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia. Incidentally lovely pictures also.

    Reply
  5. The guacamole looks AMAZING! I usually make the really simple variety, but was thinking of something more festive for parties.

    YUM!

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  6. It’s like a Mexican lasagne! I like your tweaks to the recipe.

    I think we get ripped off with lack of Cinco de Mayo celebrations here. Will be getting into the spirit next year, I reckon!

    Reply
    • Conor, you definitely have to make that trip to Brisbane one day. I celebrate Cinco de Mayo EVERY day, having turned my family room into a Mexican Cantina!!

      Mardi, love the idea of the stacked enchiladas, so another recipe to add to my growing ELTW collection of dishes to make. I recently made a stacked tortilla recipe using lentils, you would love, so will email to you.

      I am currently trying to source a tomatillo bush in Australia to plant in my orchard. Will keep my fingers crossed there is one out there somewhere.

      Reply

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