Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Red Chile Sauce

Roasting the chiles, onions and garlic is the secret to the depth and rich taste of this sauce. I am a pushover for the mild to medium-hot ancho chiles because of how sweet and velvety they are. If you like a little more heat and interest, mix them with a few guajillo chiles. Try using organic ingredients if possible.

Cook to Cook: Certainly roasted or grilled vegetables like zucchini, onions, peppers, broccoli or greens could stand in for the chicken. Fresh sweet corn kernels are wonderful as well; you could even mix some up with the chicken.

The enchiladas can be assembled and refrigerated for a day or two before baking, but do seal them well. They freeze for up to 4 months.

Roasted Red Chile Sauce:

• 5 to 6 whole dried ancho chiles (mild to medium-hot), or 4 anchos and 2 dried whole guajillo chiles

• 4 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed

• 1/2 medium to large onion, peeled and cut into 3 thick wedges

• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes (don't use pureed tomatoes, they often contain poor-quality, poor-tasting tomato paste)

• Canola oil as needed

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (fresh ground if possible)

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican if possible)

• 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

• Salt to taste

• Sugar to taste (no more than 1/2 teaspoon should be needed, if at all)

Tortillas and Chicken:

• 12 corn tortillas

• 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken (take-out works well here)

• 1 to 1-1/2 cups shredded cheese, ideally Mexican like Chihuahua, asadero, Oaxaca, quesadilla, or Manchego or Monterey Jack 

1. Make the sauce by spreading the whole chiles, garlic and onion wedges on a large griddle or a piece of heavy-duty foil. Roast them over medium heat atop the stove or on the foil under the broiler. Watch closely. Turn the pieces with tongs. The chiles will be ready first. They need to soften a bit and just begin to turn color. Remove them immediately. Next the garlic will pick up a little color. Get that off the heat, then the onions. These you want to brown a bit. Cool everything for a few minutes.

2. Stem and seed the chiles and put them in a blender with the garlic and onion. Add the tomatoes and purée until very smooth.

3. Have a strainer handy. Film the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart sauce pan with a little of the canola oil and set over medium heat. Add the cumin, oregano and pepper, stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Quickly set the strainer over the pot and pour in the sauce. Stir it to push it though the strainer quickly. Raise the heat to medium-high and simmer the sauce until it's very thick -- 5 to 8 minutes -- stirring with a wooden spatula so it doesn't stick or burn. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and sugar to taste.

4. Have the oven at 350ºF. Spread foil on a big cookie sheet. Soften the tortillas by lightly moistening each with a little canola oil, then stacking them in twos or threes and baking about 5 minutes or until soft. Wrap them up in the foil and set aside.

5. Assemble the enchiladas by mixing about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the sauce into the chicken. (If you are not freezing the enchiladas, mix the extra 1/2 cup of cheese into the chicken). 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Have two 9 x 13 pans ready. Spread a little of the sauce on the bottom of each one. Fill each tortilla with a few tablespoonfuls of the chicken. Roll them up and tuck them side by side in the pans. Pour over the sauce. If freezing, do not add the cheese. If baking off soon, cover with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 to 10 minutes or until the chicken centers are hot. Serve hot.