Roasted Tomatillo Enchiladas

Yeeeeeeeeeeeessss! I finally made roasted tomatillo enchiladas. I can't even describe how excited I am to be sharing this recipe. For a while now I have been making chicken enchiladas which my family absolutely loves. They're very easy to make, taste delicious, and reheat well. But after a while of making the same version over and over I wanted to try something different. In the past I had seen enchiladas with a green sauce instead of a red one and I became curious how to create it. After some research I found out that the green sauce is made from tomatillos, small green tomatoes that are part of the nightshade family and related to eggplants. They basically look like green tomatoes but they have a husk covering them and have a meatier, tangy flavor.

Once I browsed through a few recipes I found one that I liked and wanted to try. Unfortunately, tomatillos, common in Mexican cuisine, are extremely difficult to find in Vancouver. The regular grocery stores do not stock them and there are not many Mexican grocers. I really wanted to find some fresh tomatillos to create the sauce and didn't want to resort to buying canned ones. For months I thought about where I could go to buy some but ultimately I was lost.

Then one day I was describing my problem to my friend and she told me that she had just seen tomatillos at one of our local farm markets. I suddenly became so excited and I couldn't wait to go and buy them; in fact I don't know how I even managed to wait until the next day to do so.

Fast forward three days and I finally made the sauce and the enchiladas to go with it. I'm not going to lie and say it's the best dish I've ever made but I'm so happy to have checked it off my list. The tangy taste of the tomatillos combined with the cilantro made the sauce very unique and I could easily see it as being great for dips as well.

Because I cooked the chicken a couple days prior in some chicken stock I didn't realize until I opened the pot that my brothers had actually eaten the majority of the chicken. They both claimed that it was one of the most flavorful broths I had made, probably because I added some garlic cloves to it. I was glad that they enjoyed it but that left me scrambling for extra ingredients to add to the filling. I kept the filling simple with the remaining chicken, corn, red pepper, red onion, cilantro, and shredded cheese. Ultimately I think any filling would work well with the sauce including beef or vegetarian.

Roasted Tomatillo Enchiladas

• 8-10 tomatillos, husks removed and washed
• 5-7 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 3-4 cooked skinless chicken breasts (can use chicken thighs instead)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup whole corn kernels
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 12 fajita-sized tortillas
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

1. To prepare the sauce, arrange the tomatillos and garlic on an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Roast in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes, flipping over once halfway through.
2. Add the roasted tomatillos and garlic to a food processor along with half of the cilantro. Process until smooth. You may add some water through the spout to thin the sauce if desired but I like it thick so I left it as is.
3. Meanwhile, saute the onion and pepper over medium heat until softened. Season with salt and pepper.
4. To make the filling, shred the chicken and combine with the cooked onion and pepper, corn, remaining half of the cilantro, and one cup of shredded cheese. Add about 1/4 cup of the tomatillo sauce and mix well to combine.
5. Microwave the tortillas for 30-60 seconds so that they are soft and pliable. Working with one tortilla at a time, spread about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in a line evenly along the bottom third of the tortilla. Roll up tightly and lay, seam-side down, in a baking dish with just enough sauce spread to lightly coat the bottom.
6. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and lay each one so that it is touching its neighbors. Pour the rest of the sauce over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cup of shredded cheese.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes or until the cheese browns a little. Remove from the oven and let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.