Enchiladas Suizas

I have had a lot of fun growing our own tomatillos - there is something about their little jewelbox casings that makes them feel like a whole bush of little treasures. We had an excess in 2019, so I made buckets of this enchilada sauce to save for the winter.

This recipe is always a lot fiddlier than I think it is, but mostly because it involves so many different steps (cooking the chicken, making the sauce, etc.). If you do it all at once, it can take almost two hours. The good news is that it is super easy to prep a lot of this in advance - if all the components are ready to go, this becomes a 20 minute meal. With a buttload of cheese on top. Hard to say no, right?

Enchildas Suizas
adapted from Zora
Makes 4 servings

1 lb. chicken breast

8 tomatillos, washed and peeled
1 yellow onion, quartered and peeled
4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

1/4 to 1/3 dried ancho chili, chopped into chunks
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 handful cilantro
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
pinch ground allspice or clove
1 tsp. ground cumin
Zest and juice of one lime
1 tsp. of salt

8 corn or flour tortillas
2 cups shredded jack or mild cheddar cheese

- Poach chicken (optional, add a little chicken stock or a little lemon) while preparing sauce. Once cooked through, allow to cool, then chop and shred into bite-size pieces. This can take at least 30 minutes total (can be done in advance).
- Cover a baking sheet with foil and grease with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. Prepare and arrange tomatillos, onion, and garlic , then place under broiler. Broil in oven for for at least 4 minutes, flip all vegetables, then another 4 minutes, until onions and tomatillos are slightly charred.
- Peel garlic, then put in blender/food processor with onion and tomatillos. Add stock, chili, cilantro spices, lime, and salt. Blend until completely pureed. Taste and add salt as needed. (can be done in advance, including freezing sauce for future).
- Splash a little of the sauce in with the chicken (optional). Reduce remaining sauce in a sauce pan at a simmer for at least 20 minutes (can be done in advance).
- Preheat oven to 350. Pour sauce in a wide, shallow bowl. Splash a little bit of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Dip a tortilla in the sauce to soften slightly. Lay out on baking sheet, place roughly 1/8 of chicken on one side of tortilla (eyeball this), then roll up tortilla. Continue until all tortillas are filled and placed side by side in pan. Top evenly with all remaining sauce and finish with cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes until cheese looks completely melted.