Enfrijoladas

Enfrijoladas are an enchilada, but not just any enchilada. I remember when my Mom would make tamales de frijol (bean tamales), we would fight for the last one! She added chile puree made from chile ancho and chile California to her beans and that really made them stand out! I decided to add some chiles to my sauce and it really took me back to those tamale days as a child.

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups pinto beans with the broth
3 chile California
3 chile ancho
1 small white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1¼ cup light sour cream
½ cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing tortillas

4 cups chicken breast, that has cooked and shredded (2 large chicken breast)
1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
12 to 14 corn tortillas

Directions:

1. Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles (California and ancho), transfer to a glass bowl and cover with water. Cook in the microwave 6 to 7 minutes stirring once during cooking time. Remove from microwave, cover and set aside.

2. In a large sauce pan, add oil and heat to medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, beans in broth, chicken broth, and sour cream. Drain the reserved chile california and anchos, add to bean mixture. Bring to a boil, taste for salt. Remove from heat.

3. I suggest doing this next step in the blender. Transfer 2 cups of the hot beans to the blender, secure the lid, cover with kitchen towel and hold down while blending. Blend on high until smooth. Do not overfill your blender when blending hot foods because the lid may pop off during blending. Blend in batches and transfer back to sauce pan. Cook for another 10 minutes, adding a bit more chicken broth if too thick. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

4. To make enchiladas, brush 12 to 14 corn tortillas with oil on both sides. Heat griddle or large frying pan and cook tortillas for about 30 seconds per side, stack onto plate and cover with clean kitchen towel.

5. In a large baking dish, pour in enough enfrijolada sauce to cover the bottom of pan. Fill and roll the corn tortillas with  shredded chicken. Top with more enfrijolada sauce and about 1 cup of shredded jack cheese. Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeno, salsa and lime pickled red onions (recipe: http://www.hispanickitchen.com/profiles/blogs/lime-pickled-red-onions). 

If you want to keep it vegetarian, just fill the tortillas with the enfrijolada sauce instead of meat. Very satisfying!

Other recipes by Sonia:

Mexican Red Rice
Annatto-Citrus Marinated Chicken
Chile Relleno with Serrano Shrimp
Crab Cakes with Habanero Slaw
Cheesy Chorizo Bread
Flank Steak Tacos
Frijoles Borrachos con Chorizo
Buffalo Chicken Flautas
Chile Garlic Shrimp Kabobs
Avocado Fries
Chicken Enchilada Soup with Chayotes
Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chip Chimichangas


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