Enchiladas Verdes

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 3 teaspoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium canned chicken broth
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (2 to 3 breasts)
• 1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed well and dried (16 to 20 tomatillos. if need be, you can substitute three 11-ounce cans of tomatillos,drained and ri)
• 3 poblano chiles, halved lengthwise, stemmed, and seeded (if you can't find poblanos, substitute 4 large jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed. to increase)
• 1 1/2-2 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 ounces monterey jack pepper cheese (2 cups) or 8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
• 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• vegetable oil cooking spray (like pam)
• 2 scallions, sliced thin (green onions)
• thinly sliced radish
• sour cream

Recipe

• 1 adjust the oven racks to the middle and highest positions and heat the broiler. heat 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering; add the chopped onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden. add 2 teaspoons of the minced garlic and the cumin; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. decrease the heat to low and stir in the chicken broth. add the chicken, cover, and simmer until the thickest part of the breasts registers 160 to 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 20 minutes. transfer the chicken to a large bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool, about 20 minutes. reserve 1/4 cup of the liquid; discard any remaining liquid.
• 2 meanwhile, toss the tomatillos and poblano chiles with the remaining 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil; arrange on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, with the poblano chiles skin side up. broil them until they blacken and soften, 5 to 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking. cool for 10 minutes, then remove the skin from the poblano chiles (leave the tomatillos skins intact). transfer the tomatillos and chiles to a food processor. decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees. discard the foil from the baking sheet and set the baking sheet aside for warming the tortillas.
• 3 add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, remaining teaspoon of minced garlic, and reserved cooking liquid to the food processor; pulse until the sauce is chunky, about 8 pulses (you could use a blender, but i find that processing the sauce in a blender makes it too smooth). season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust the tartness by stirring in the remaining sugar, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. set the sauce aside (you should have about 3 cups).
• 4 when the chicken is cool, shred it with your hands or 2 forks, then chop into bite-size pieces. in a bowl, combine the chicken with the cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese; season with salt,to taste.
• 5 add 3/4 cup of the sauce to the bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. spray both sides of the tortillas lightly with the vegetable oil spray and place them on 2 baking sheets. bake until the tortillas are pliable, 2 to 4 minutes; remove from oven. increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. spread 1/3 cup of chicken filling down the center of each tortilla. roll each tortilla tightly and place in the baking dish, seam side down. pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas, spreading it with the back of a spoon so it coats the top of each tortilla. sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and cover the baking dish with foil.
• 6 bake the enchiladas on the middle rack until heated through and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. uncover, sprinkle with the scallions, and serve, passing the radishes and sour cream separately.