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^[2]I love chicken enchiladas with salsa verde (green sauce), but ordering at restaurants can be difficult to determine if it is gluten-free. The restaurants may dip the corn tortillas in the same oil that the flour tortillas are at the restaurant, thus creating a cross-contamination risk. In addition, wheat flour could be used in the sauce or in the chicken broth used to prepare the chicken and sauce.

Well, here’s a recipe you can make at home that is just as good as you can get in a restaurant, or perhaps better! It does take some time to make it, but it isn’t difficult and it’s so worth it! My dad makes the original recipe and always gets rave reviews. I’ve modified it slightly to make it a little easier on me and adjust the flavor to my liking, but the original recipe comes from El Paso Chile Company’s Texas Border Cookbook ^[3].

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chiles
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 lb. tomatillos (about 5 or 6 six large)
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 fresh jalapenos, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Cup chicken broth (Make sure it’s gluten-free.)
2 TBSP olive oil
1  1/2 Cups corn oil
12, 6-inch corn tortillas
4 cups chicken, cooked and shredded (Try Slow-Cooked Mexican Chicken ^[4].)
12 oz. shredded cheese (about 3 Cups) Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or combination

Directions:

1. Cook tomatillos in a pot of salted (1 tsp) boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Don’t cook too long or the tomatillos may fall apart. Remove from the water and cool to room temperature. Once cooled, I cut out the stem.
2. In a blender, combine tomatillos, onion, jalapenos, garlic and 1-1/2 tsp salt. Blend until smooth. Add the green chilles and then enough chicken broth (about 1 Cup) to make sauce a total of 4 Cups.
3. In a large skillet warm olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the tomatillo sauce carefully (it may splatter). Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. In a deep skillet or large pot, heat 1/4″-1/2″ corn oil over medium heat. Using tongs, immerse the tortillas one at a time in the oil, turn them, and then transfer them to absorbent paper. The tortillas should be in the oil no more than a few seconds, and the oil should be hot enough to soften the tortillas but not so hot that the edges begin to crisp.
5. For each tortilla, spread a TBSP of sauce on it. Place about 1/3 cup chicken and about 1 TBSP of shredded cheese in the bottom center of the tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place in a baking dish (I use a 9″x13″ pan.). Continue for the remaining 11 tortillas.
6. Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F until heated through, cheese is melted, and sauce is bubbling – about 15 minutes.

Additional Notes:

• For the jalapenos, I chop the whole chile and discard only the stem. If you like your enchiladas a little more mild, be sure to remove the seeds before chopping.
• These make great leftovers. Just heat a couple enchiladas for 90 seconds in the microwave.

Diane at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang ^[5] is doing a round-up of garlic recipes this week for Friday Foodie Fix ^[6]. She has a lot of good information on different types of garlic. And, I’m sure there will be lots of garlic recipes to review. Although this recipe doesn’t have a lot of garlic in it, it wouldn’t be the same without it.