Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders - Emeril Lagasse [28]
7. Cut the chicken into pieces and serve over the black beans. Garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano.
4 servings
CHEESE ENCHILADAS WITH A SMOKY RED CHILE SAUCE
These enchiladas have an earthy, smoky chile sauce that really makes this dish sing. Feel free to personalize the enchiladas by adding other ingredients. They’d be dynamite with some shredded pulled pork (Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork) or alongside Mexican rice and cooked pinto beans; or add other ingredients to the filling, such as shredded chicken or cooked drained beans. Make ’em your own!
6 cups water
4 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 ounce dried guajillo chiles (about 5 chiles), seeded and deveined
1 ounce dried ancho chiles (about 5 chiles), seeded and deveined
7 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup small-diced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled between your fingers
1 teaspoon dried Mexican or regular oregano, crumbled between your fingers
1 cinnamon stick
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
2½ cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 corn tortillas
12 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
6 ounces queso cotija, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or feta cheese, finely grated (about 1½ cups)
2 ounces queso blanco, ricotta salata, or farmer’s cheese, finely grated
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves
1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover to keep warm and set aside.
2. Heat a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Toast the garlic cloves on one side of the pan and cook, turning frequently, until dark spots appear on the skin and the garlic softens inside its peel, about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan, peel, and set aside. While the garlic is toasting, toast the dried chiles on the other side of the pan until the oils are released, flattening and pressing the chiles down with a spatula, 2 to 3 minutes per side. After toasting, transfer the chiles to the pot of hot water and weight the chiles with a small plate or other heatproof object so that they remain submerged. Cover and soak until the chiles are reconstituted, 2 to 3 hours.
3. Wipe the sauté pan clean with a paper towel. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and cook until the onion is lightly caramelized and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, and cinnamon stick and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and 2 cups of the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the flavors have come together, about 4 minutes. Add the black pepper and the remaining ¾ teaspoon salt, stir to combine, and set aside. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard.
4. Transfer the chiles to a blender and add ½ cup of the soaking water. Blend until pureed, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing to extract as much of the chile as possible. Discard the solids. Return the pureed chiles to the blender and add the onion-tomato mixture and the remaining ½ cup chicken stock. Place a towel on top of the blender to allow any heat to escape (use caution when blending hot liquids!). Puree until smooth.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Clean the sauté pan and place it back on the stove. Add 3 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add a corn tortilla and cook until soft and pliable, about 20 seconds per side. Allow any excess oil to drip from the tortilla back into the pan, then transfer the tortilla to a paper towel–lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, adding the rest of the oil as needed.
6. Lightly season the tortillas with salt. Place about ¼ cup of the Pepper Jack and 2 tablespoons of the cotija cheese down the center of each tortilla. Roll the tortillas up, then place them