Tomatillo Sauce and Weeknight Chicken Enchiladas

Last Saturday was a gloomy day and I was cozy on the sofa watching PBS and came across Pati's Mexican Kitchen. I'd never seen it before, but everything sure looked great.  In particular was a green tomatillo sauce that she used on some tacos and as a side for dipping chips.

I love green sauce when I head out to Mexican restaurants--so I thought I'd try this one.  I made it on a Tuesday after work--it was super fast and easy to do on a work night.  I served it with tacos that night and the next night made up some chicken enchiladas!

Pati Jinich's Green Sauce

2 lbs tomatillos

1/4 c. white onion, rough chop

2 cloves garlic

1 Serrano (or jalapeño) pepper

1/2 bunch cilantro with stems

1 T. vegetable oil

salt to taste

Peel the husk off the tomatillos, rinse and  and place in a pot with the whole garlic and whole pepper.  Cover with water and bring to boil, cook about 8-10 minutes until tomatillos are soft. In your blender, blend about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, the tomatillos, garlic and pepper (if you think it will be too spicy, use just half the pepper).   Pulse until thick but not super smooth.  Add the onions and cilantro and puree again until its pretty smooth. 
 
Empty the cooking pot of any leftover cooking water  and heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and pour in the puree.  Simmer for about 20 minutes. If it seems a bit tart, try adding 1/4-1/2 teaspoon sugar.

I loved it so much, that the next day I made a triple batch of sauce and froze it to use in future recipes. I have a Latino grocery store near my house--and the ingredients there are usually super inexpensive (like I spent a total of about $4 for the triple batch ingredients).  If you've got a market like that, check it out!


My Weeknight Chicken Enchiladas

1 1/2 cups green tomatillo sauce
6 corn or flour tortillas
1 pound cooked chicken, chopped (I used Costco rotisserie chicken)
1 can green chiles
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
1 pound jack cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a saute pan,  heat the oil over medium and then saute the onion until translucent (about 5 minutes).  Add the cumin and the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.

In a mixing bowl, dump the chopped chicken, chiles, onion mix and about 1 cup of the shredded cheese and 1/2 cup of green sauce; stir to combine.

In an 8x8 baking dish, pour about 1/4 cup of the green sauce and spread over the bottom. Soften the tortillas (corn, a quick fry in oil or spray with oil and bake for a few minutes.  Flour, heat in the microwave for 15 seconds).  Fill each tortilla with the chicken mix.  Roll up and place seam side down into the dish.  Repeat.  Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.



Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly (I sped things along by microwaving for about 3 minutes first, then adding the cheese on the top and finishing in the oven for 15 minutes).

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, chopped lettuce or tomatoes.