Enchiladas Divorciadas
A classic Mexican dish featuring corn tortillas filled with tender shredded chicken, topped with two distinct sauces - a green tomatillo salsa verde and a red tomato-chile salsa roja. Garnished with crème fraîche, queso fresco, and sliced onions, this dish gets its name 'divorced enchiladas' from the two contrasting sauces served on opposite sides.
Ingredients
- •1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- •½ whole white onion
- •4 cloves garlic
- •3 whole serrano chiles
- •12 oz tomatillos
- •1 cup cilantro
- •to taste Kosher salt
- •1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- •¼ whole white onion
- •1 clove garlic
- •3 whole guajillo chiles
- •2 whole dried chiles de árbol
- •3 whole plum tomatoes
- •to taste Kosher salt
- •1 whole chicken
- •6 whole bay leaves
- •1 tsp allspice berries
- •to taste Kosher salt
- •½ cup crème fraîche
- •⅓ cup queso fresco
- •½ cup vegetable oil
- •12 whole corn tortillas
- •1 whole white onion
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is lightly browned and vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatillos and cook, stirring occasionally, just until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add cilantro and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until tomatillos soften, 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly; transfer to a blender. Purée until smooth; season with salt. Return salsa verde to saucepan and keep warm until ready to use.
40 min
- 2.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add both chiles, tomatoes, and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until tomatoes and chiles soften, 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly; transfer to a blender. Purée until smooth; season with salt. Return salsa roja to saucepan and keep warm until ready to use.
35 min
- 3.
Place chicken, bay leaves, and allspice in a small pot and pour in water to cover by 1"; season lightly with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently until chicken is nearly cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of chicken should register 145°F-150°F), 20-25 minutes from the time water starts simmering. Let chicken cool at least 1 hour (it should be just warm). If you have the time, cover and chill up to 12 hours.
85 min
- 4.
Remove chicken from broth. Pull meat from bones and shred; discard skin and bones. Place meat in a large saucepan and pour in just enough broth to cover. Set aside any remaining broth for another use. Gently reheat chicken over medium-low; season with salt.
15 min
- 5.
Meanwhile, mix crème fraîche and queso fresco in a small bowl to combine.
2 min
- 6.
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high until hot but not smoking. Submerge each tortilla in oil long enough to soften but not so long that they fall apart, 5-10 seconds each. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain.
10 min
- 7.
Working one at a time, fill each tortilla with about 1/3 cup shredded chicken and roll up tightly. Place 3 tortillas each, seam side down, into bowls. Ladle 1/2 cup of each sauce on opposite ends of enchiladas. Top with a big spoonful of crème fraîche mixture and scatter onion over.
15 min
- 8.
Chicken can be poached and shredded 3 days ahead. Place in a small bowl and pour in broth to submerge; cover and chill.