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Red Enchiladas

Red Enchiladas
  • Prep 30 min
  • Total 60 min
  • Ingredients 16
  • Servings 4
Red enchiladas bring back memories of the family vacations we enjoyed in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The dish gets this name because the sauce is made from tomatoes and dried red chilies with spices. It’s a very delicious and easy recipe. Enchiladas are a very old dish dating from the days of mestizaje. You can find different versions in each state of the Mexican Republic, with ingredient variations, but what never varies is the tortilla, the sauce and the cheese. They’re all delicious ingredients, so… Let’s cook!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups grated cheese for quesadillas (the type that melts evenly and is creamy)
  • 12 fried corn tortillas (3 small tortillas per person)
  • oil (corn or safflower) to fry the tortillas
  • 5 dried guajillo chilies
  • 3 dried ancho chilies
  • 1 medium red tomato
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 medium white onion
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 cube chicken bouillon powder
  • 2 cups water
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup finely chopped white onion
  • 1 small sliced white onion for garnish
  • 4 Chinese parsley sprigs for garnish
  • 1 cup fresh cream to serve with

Directions

  • 1
    Heat oven to 350°F.
  • 2
    For the red sauce, place two cups of water in a saucepot; add the dried chilies without the stem and seeds, the tomato, the onion and the garlic over medium to medium high heat. Cover the pot and cook for 20 minutes or until dried chilies are soft. When ready in blender, blend all ingredients, plus the salt, the cumin, a chicken bouillon cube and 1 cup of water (be careful not to add too much water, sauce should be thick). Strain and put away in a container for future use.
  • 3
    Lightly fry the tortillas in oil; don’t let them brown. Put them aside in a plate until you’re ready to make the enchiladas.
  • 4
    Follow these steps to put together the enchiladas:
  • 5
    Use small baking dishes in order to fit 3 enchiladas per person. Start with the first tortilla, stuff it with some grated cheese and chopped onion, add some red sauce, fold it over and go through the same process for the following two enchiladas and the remaining servings.
  • 6
    When ready, pour the red sauce generously over each serving, add and sprinkle grated cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese melts and browns on top. Garnish with fresh cream, slices of white onion and a Chinese parsley sprig.

  • In order to have more available time to spend with your guests, you may prepare this dish the day before. I use a convection oven, which saves me some time, but you can use a gas or electric oven. It is advisable to use molds for individual servings, but you can also bake them in a large, rectangular casserole-type mold. You just have to arrange it in layers: one layer of tortillas, another layer of cheese and onion, another layer of sauce and repeat the process. They can be served with refried beans and white rice.

No nutrition information available for this recipe

  • Red enchiladas bring back memories of the family vacations we enjoyed in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The dish gets this name because the sauce is made from tomatoes and dried red chilies with spices. It’s a very delicious and easy recipe. Enchiladas are a very old dish dating from the days of mestizaje. You can find different versions in each state of the Mexican Republic, with ingredient variations, but what never varies is the tortilla, the sauce and the cheese. They’re all delicious ingredients, so… Let’s cook!
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