Daring cooks May 2010; Enchiladas
Grilled chicken enchiladas with mole sauce
When I read what the challenge for this month was going to be I got all excited. I totally love Mexican food!! The original challenge called for making Stacked Green Chili and grilled chicken enchiladas. Sounded like fun and while reading through the ingredients I figured I should be able to get them, if not in my hometown, then certainly in Amsterdam. So one day while half the nation was celebrating Queens day we ventured out to one of the wholesale stores in Amsterdam that cater for restaurants. Finding the green chilis was easy, but then came finding tomatillos… Nothing that looked even remotely like it and when we asked if they would have them, the guy at the store said that ‘sure he could order them, if you were willing to buy a planeload!’ You can indeed order them, but they only ship them when they have a certain amount and certainly nothing like the tiny amount that I needed for this recipe. And since I was not willing to buy 500 kilo of tomatillos (he never said 500 kg, I just made that up.. 
) I figured I try the other store… Also no luck and this time the guy we asked didn’t even know what we were talking about. Green tomatoes then maybe? Certainly not; I got the reply as green tomatoes are poisonous…. Sure… I figured I leave it at that and accept the fact that I would not be able to find tomatillos in the Netherlands. If anyone knows of a source either a store or through the internet let me know, as I would still like to make the original recipe at some point.
Just out of the oven
Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.
So what now to make; I searched for ‘mole’ sauces on the internet, but didn’t find anything that appealed to me or would fit into the challenge until I followed the link that Barbara and Anna had given in the post about this challenge recipe and bingo; that “Quick chicken mole” recipe sounded intriguing with the chocolate and the peanutbutter and all ingredients I could get so that would be the recipe. I still had the green chilis plus I bought an outrageously expensive piece of cheese named “Sparkenhoe Leicester” and it is very bright orange, so that is why the dish looks so colorful. It’s the cheese!
I asked for Monterey Jack cheese but they did not have that and the storeman said that I could try this cheese. What he forgot to mention was that the piece I grabbed was 14 euro! O well, it was a very tasty cheese. Mild but perfect for this dish and great melting capabilities…
I used half of the challenge recipe and half of the recipe for the chicken mole and combined those to make a stack of enchiladas. And the result? I think I can honestly say that this is by far the best Daring Cooks challenge that I have ever had and by far the best enchiladas I have eaten ever in the Netherlands. Absolutely and completely delicious!! You can tell by the fact that below is the only bit that was left on my plate and you can see how large it is, can you not? Seriously… you should try this; it is soooo good!
I grilled the chicken after first rubbing them with olive oil and then generously seasoning it with salt and pepper. I removed it from the grill and then let it cool and cut into strips.
You also need a generous amount of grated cheese. I used Sparkenhoe Leicester but a good cheddar will be good too or Monterey Jack or another mexican cheese.
Preheat oven to about 200 C.
Here is the recipe I used for the sauce…
QUICK CHICKEN MOLE (adapted from the recipe by Paula Deen for Foodnetwork.com) 2-3 portions
Ready to be popped in the oven
Ingredients:
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1,5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp of chili powder
1 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 can diced tomatoes
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 green chili peppers, roughly chopped (seeds removed)
250 gr of chicken stock
2 tbsp of peanut butter
50 gr of bittersweet chocolate
Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue to saute to toast and develop flavor. Add diced tomatoes, peppers, chili pepers, stock, peanut butter and chocolate. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Take a ovenproof dish that is large enough to put two tortillas in. I used a storebought variety which is fairly large so I could fit only two tortillas in the dish pictured but since we’re with two that was perfect. The qty’s given above are for two (very) generous portions or three smaller ones. Put some of the sauce in the bottom of the dish and put the first two tortillas on top. Spread with some more sauce, half of the chopped up chicken and 1/3 of the grated cheese. Put two more tortillas on top, top with the rest of the chicken, more sauce and another third of the grated cheese.
Put the final two tortillas on top and top that with the remaining sauce and cheese.
Bake until the cheese has melted and everything heated through, about 20 minutes. Take from the oven and let rest for about 5-10 minutes. To serve, transfer each stack to a plate. Spoon any leftover sauce over the stacks and sprinkle with cilantro if you wish. You can also make this in individual gratin dishes.
The sauce is incredibly rich and the chocolate and peanutbutter give it an amazing taste and it smells just sooo good, there are no words for it. I changed some of the qty’s of the original recipe and left out some too.
Leftovers.... not a lot!
All in all, I would make this again definitely and this is in fact going in our “favorites” files. It was THAT good. Tom loved it too and we both ate too much of this delicious dish. So thanks Barbara and Anna for picking this challenge! Now… if only I can find tomatillos somewhere…
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Wow! What a glorious colour that dish has…oozing with perfect “cheesiness”! Love it Simone!
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Mmm…looks very delicious~very flavorful and cheesy ;DD
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I see you used the cheese I tasted and ogled at when I was at Neal’s Yard Dairy, in London. YUM! You have convinced me about the deliciousness of this recipe – so, I have a couple of questions:
what is a fresh green chili? We sell them by name here – poblano, jalepino, Aneheim, etc… which kind should I buy? Some are much hotter than others, of course. Which was yours? Hot? Medium? Mild?
And the sauce recipe says for 2-3 portions. Was that enough for the dish you made? Did your recipe serve 2 people?
I know, I know… lots of questions… but that is why I love to read your posts! I always learn something!
Valerie
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OK – so I see you say 2 generous portions. I thought I had already read it carefully – but, apparently not!
Still need the green chili information. This sounds just too good not to try!
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Selma McIntire — May 18th, 2010 at 18:31
Your photos are wonderful. I make a different (Tex-Mex) version of Stacked Enchalidas but I will try your version soon.
The person who told you that green tomatoes are poisonous was completely wrong! Green tomato recipes are numerous. some of the recipes I use have been handed down 3 generations. For example: Fried Green Tomatoes; Green Tomato Pickles and Green Tomato Pickle Relish; Green Tomato Pie; Green Tomato Spaghetti Sauce.
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Simone (junglefrog) — May 20th, 2010 at 23:21
I was already wondering what the guy was talking about..
But I didn’t want to argue and I wasn’t entirely sure what the story was so thanks for clearing that up for me!
Kaye — June 9th, 2010 at 13:17
Green tomatoes and tomatillos are *not* the same thing, not even interchangeable afaik. Tomoatillos are in the Physalis family, as I remember; the fruit covered with a paper husk. They’re usually a bit bigger than the yellow physalis that you can get fairly frequently at your groenteboer.
The most consistent supply of Mexican items in Amsterdam is Tjin’s, just off the Albert Kuypstraat. They’ll have corn tortillas (frozen) from Corny Bakers in Weesp. I have a very vague recollection of seeing fresh tomatillos there, although I could mis-remember this. They definitely have whole tomatillos in cans, which generally work fine for most things. Rinse them well.
There’s also http://www.latiendita.nl, who’s been redisigning their site for months and months and months. I’m getting desperate for their return, since I’m out of several things.
There used to be a grocery in Wassenaar that catered to the expat population and had an impressive collection of things Mexican, including proper cheese (which imho is why most European Mexican food is pretty far from the real thing). This was Vreken, I think. Don’t know if it’s still there. It’s been a really long time since I was there.
Your enchiladas look good! I hope the Red Leicester worked OK. I took to using a licht belegen hollandse geitenkaas, maybe with a bit of mozzarella or meikaas included for the proper stringiness.
Ah! Simone! love your misadventures which result in such gorgeous dishes!!
) You made Mole in 20 minutes??!! OMG! I made it in 5 hours for the previous challenge.. LOL..
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While you had to make substitutions, your finished dish looks wonderful and it sounds like you had an adventure while trying to find the chiles. You did a great job with the challenge. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
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Oh my..this looks amazing! So cheesy..and the mole sauce….yum!
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I came here through Daring bakers foroum as you had commentd in the FG and TS issue. Love your place.
These enchiladas look so so delious.
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It seems that I am not the only one who had difficulties tracking down Mexican ingredients- I couldn’t even find tortillas so made something completely different. Your recipe looks delicious.
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Your enchiladas look fantastic! I’m glad you enjoyed them, especially after such a hunt for the ingredients.
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Even your last bite picture is gorgeous! So glad you loved this challenge. Thanks for cooking for us.
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Yum!
that looks delicious!!
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I agree, this was definitely one of the most delicious challenges yet! I had trouble finding tomatillos too… But I love your quick mole recipe, I’ll definitely try it! And as always, your pictures look beautiful.
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This is mouth watering! I have trouble finding tomatillos here too – and when I do I snatch up a whole bunch of them. They have a very unique flavor that I love.
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Simone (junglefrog) — May 17th, 2010 at 23:29
I really can’t wait to try them and will definitely be on the constant lookout to find them!
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That’s a comforting dish…meat, lots of cheese and some hot sauce. I’ll bring the cervezas!
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I am so printing out your Mole sauce.}:P The store bought I used wasn’t that good. In fact, it wasn’t good at all. LOL
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Simone..I love the new layout of your site..it looks amazing! Speaking of amazing, what a smack down job on the stacked enchiladas. I wish I had known about the quickie mole recipe because I used Rick Bayless’ really long and involved red mole recipe LOL That said..I am (as always) in awe of those photos. Every little detail and color is spot on and so vibrant. Definitely making my mouth water.
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I love all of your daring cooks entries, but these enchiladas look particularly yummy, especially with all this melted cheese on top.
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You did an amazing job with this recipe. Beautiful!
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I have read many places that Mexican food is really hard to come by in Europe. I would assume that makes your challenge taste that much sweeter. Excellent work.
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Simone (junglefrog) — May 17th, 2010 at 23:24
Most of the ingredients for Mexican dishes are quite readily available here; it is just the special ingredients (such as tomatillos) that are hard to get!
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Look at all that super cheesy goodness! Great job on this challenge Simone – too bad you couldnt find the tomatillos – I wonder how much the flavour would have changed…
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Simone (junglefrog) — May 17th, 2010 at 23:23
I am still on the lookout for tomatillos. If I ever will find them here I will definitely be making this with tomatillos next!
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Oooo this looks amazing!
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Too bad there weren’t many leftovers: that’s the best part about enchiladas! They look so cheesy!!!
I’ve skipped too many challengens…shocked they haven’t kicked me out yet
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So this is the challenge I decided to let go? Convincingly scrumptious and especially when it came to your shot, the dish just turned so vivid and beautiful.
Sparkenhoe Leicester might have a great color, but it is entirely you skill to bring the dish into such breathtaking state.
Sawadee from Bangkok,
Kri
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Simone (junglefrog) — May 20th, 2010 at 23:22
O thanks Kris, you’re just to sweet…
Ofcourse you can still make this dish outside of the Daring Cooks; it is really seriously very good!
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Very delicious looking. Beautiful pictures- everything just jumps out at me!
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Gorgeous enchiladas, Simone! And it looks like great minds were thinking alike during this challenge (we did a mole too!). I’ll have to put this quick mole in my recipe file to try.
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OMG Simone, where the heck have I been? Your new look is gorgeous! Perfect and so much easier. And these enchiladas are to die for! Mmmm. Rich, creamy, cheesy, flavorful! I’m coming for lunch!
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Simone (junglefrog) — May 20th, 2010 at 23:20
Haha… you’re always welcome Jamie!
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Hi
Unfortunately I have some sad news about Rosie from Baking Cakes Galore. Could you please by my blog. I have written a tribute and would like everyone that knew her to leave a comment. I will be printing out all the comments to send onto her husband.
Maria
x
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That looks terrific, and I think your mole shortcut is brilliant.
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MMMMMMMM,…Simone!! Your enchiladas look a real treat!!
I love to eat them from time to time!! Georgous pictures too!
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The melted cheese looks so great! I love this kind of food and could enjoy it every day. If you can’t get tomatillos and monterey jack in Amsterdam, you’ll just have to come visit Texas!
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Love your enchiladas! They are pack full of flavours. Very nicely done!
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Oh, Simone! Every time I come to your blog I feel like … why don’t I come more often?! Where has the time gone. Your enchiladas are simply stunning!
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I get hungry and I wish I could eat your enchiladas now.
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I never got a chance to say thank you for your suggestions on where to get the ingredients! I will certainly be checking them out (and that website is still in redesign it seems…) Believe it or not we do not have a groenteboer in our area, so I have to do with the supermarket and well, they certainly do not have anything out of the ordinary! The red leicester worked perfectly in this dish…but any tasty cheese would probably do the trick!
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