Best Chicken Enchiladas with Green Sauce Ever!

I love making enchiladas when friends visit for dinner. All the advantages of a casserole without tuna and noodles. It's also a welcome dish to drop off for after a new baby.

They are easy to make in advance so you can focus on your friends while dinner bakes. Serve with refried beans and Mexican rice.

This recipe has a wonderfully fresh flavor that comes from the tomatillos and is an excellent alternative to a heavier red tomato or chilis-based sauce.

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce (Enchiladas Suizas)

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

• 3 large fresh poblano or Anaheim peppers
• 5-6 tomatillos husked and rinsed or a 13-ounce can, rinsed and drained
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, rinsed, dried, and chopped for the recipe and extra for garnish
• 2 cloves minced garlic or 1 teaspoon pre-minced from a jar
• 1/2 C Chicken broth or stock
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1/4 C chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 3-ounce package cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 Cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey

Additional items needed

• 8-12 6-inch corn tortillas
• 1/2 C shredded Monterey jack cheese for the top (or any other white Mexican melting cheese)

Directions

1. For sauce: Halve peppers lengthwise and core and seed. Roast peppers by placing the cut side on a baking sheet and broil or bake at 425 until skins are blistered and dark. Alternatively, spear and roast them over your gas range until blistered or use a torch. Remove from the baking sheet and wrap the peppers tightly in foil. Let stand 30 minutes to steam.
2. While the peppers are resting, place fresh tomatillos (if that is what you are using) into a large saucepan add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 8-10 minutes until soft. Drain. If you are using canned, just skip this cooking step and proceed.
3. Peel the peppers. Using a thin flour sack style dishtowel - the smooth kind with no fuzz - hold the peppers and remove skins by gently rubbing off the blackened skins.
4. Place roasted peppers, tomatillos, onion, cilantro, or garlic in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until almost smooth.
5. Pour sauce into a saucepan and stir in chicken broth, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream (never boil after adding sour cream) and set aside.
6. Wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes until heated through or microwave them after you finish the filling.
7. While the tortillas are warming, make the filling. Cook onion in butter until tender. Add cream cheese, milk, and cumin. Add meat, and stir until combined.
8. Roll up about 1/4 cup of the filling on each warm tortilla. Nestle the enchiladas against each other in the pan to keep them rolled up. (I usually stretch to 12 tortillas because I always have more chicken and cream cheese!)
9. Place filled tortillas seam-side down into a sprayed baking dish. Top with sauce.
10. Bake covered in a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes until heated through. After 10 minutes, remove the pan and top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 more minutes until everything starts to turn golden and is bubbling.
11. After plating, garnish with cilantro and a drizzle of Mexican crema (sold near the sour cream, it's thinner in consistency), or dollop on a little extra sour cream if you like.