Green Chile Enchiladas

If you were to ask me what my favorite food was in the whole world, I would most likely respond, enchiladas. And not the exotic, wonderfully complex authentic enchiladas from Mexico, but the cheesy casserole American version my mom made for us growing up. Just smelling the tortillas being lightly fried (to soften them so they roll up easily), and my tummy will leap for joy knowing that enchiladas will be ready shortly. This is the scent of my childhood, my mom in the kitchen, the family around the table. We always make enough for leftovers because as my father will happily tell you, there is nothing better than my mom’s enchiladas, re-heated for breakfast.

My tomatillo plants are still producing, as is the Anaheim green chile plant, so I decided to do a green chile salsa verde version of my mom’s enchiladas. Note that this recipe can be much easier to prepare than what I’ve shown here. If this weren’t tomatillo season, and if I had only half an hour to prepare a meal for the family, I would use prepared tomatillo salsa, instead of roasting my own, and prepared canned chiles too if I didn’t have fresh chiles or time to roast them. Then it’s just a matter of frying the tortillas in a little oil, rolling them up with cheese and chiles, assembling them in a casserole, covering with sauce and cooking until the cheese melts. (Speaking of which, I used half a pound of Jack cheese, which is on the light side. My mother would typically use a pound.)

Green Chile Enchiladas Recipe

You can easily substitute prepared canned tomatillo salsa verde for the tomatillo sauce (you'll need two cups), and canned whole Anaheim green chiles for the chiles (remove the seeds and stems if still in the chiles).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos
• 3 cloves garlic, still in their peels
• 2 jalapenos
• Salt

• 3-4 large Anaheim chiles
• 12 corn tortillas
• Canola or grapeseed oil
• 1/2 pound to a pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated (quantity depends on how cheesy you want the enchiladas to be)

• Sour cream
• Cilantro

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