School Night enchiladas wasn't the creative endeavor most
people think. Rather, this recipe is a father's desperate
attempt to juggle work, family and quality food. In the
middle of the week, when the final straw may be to cook a
meal, I had to come up with something. Yes, it had to be
good, but it also had to be quick.
You should know that New Mexican cuisine is more than
recipes and aromatic flavors filling the kitchen. Meal time
isn't simply about the food, but infuses the lifestyle.
It's the unhurried gathering of family and if they knew I
was promoting hastily prepared enchiladas, I might very
well be banned from future seating at their table.
As a young man, enchiladas were a celebratory meal. Served
for graduations, birthdays, my grandmother would
painstakingly start the red chile early in the morning.
Nobody was allowed into her kitchen until she was ready for
us. She'd chop onions, press garlic and fry tortillas
until, finally, stage one was complete. Calling in the
troops, we'd form an assembly line to dip tortillas in red
chile. My sister would carefully fill each with ground
beef, onions and cheese and I would roll and place them
strategically in a pan.
In New Mexico, enchiladas are prepared flat, in layers and
smothered with chile. Tradition calls for a fried egg
served on top, so you can see why my elders won't be
entirely thrilled with my desperate creation. Still, I have
the trump card that wasn't available to them.
I'm told by my customers that I make the best enchilada
sauce on the planet and only this is going to save me from
the kitchen gallows. Like with all of our recipes, this
will take you thirty minutes or less.
School Night Enchiladas-serves 4
1/2 brown chopped onion
1 chopped Roma tomato
5 tsp canola oil
3 cloves chopped garlic
3 chopped green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro divided
1 doz corn tortillas (prefer stale)
16 oz Coyote Trail Enchilada Sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz sliced black olives Creme Fresh (sour cream) dollop
In a large frying pan, saute onion in Canola oil. Cut
tortillas into small triangles and add to saute. Add more
oil if necessary to lightly coat chips.
Cook 8-10 minutes over med. heat. Add garlic and 1/2
cilantro. Use spatula to carefully turn mixture without
breaking up chips.
Add enchilada sauce and coat chips evenly. Turn heat low.
Add cheese and mix. To complete, add olives, tomatoes.
green onion and cilantro. Turn heat off and let rest for 10
minutes.
Garnish with creme Fresh and serve.
Note-to serve New Mexico style, add a fried egg and place
on top of ea serving.
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Chuck Machado is President of New Mexico Chile Company
http://www.coyotechile.com
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