What do tomatillos, Anaheim peppers, pinto beans, and bacon all have in common? Well, judging on a strictly food category basis, nothing at all. However, when combined they make one of the most most delectable and highly requested dishes ever to grace our table and that is the Stacked Enchilada. We can thank genius food writer and home cook, Matthew Amster-Burton for both this recipe and his hilarious book, Hungry Monkey. Which you can purchase…here. (Warning: this book contains some profanity)
Not enough can be said about the flavor of this meal…the smokiness of the beans, the fire-roastedness of the chile sauce, the white meatiness of the chicken all with the lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream…well I think you’ll have your Peeps shouting, “Ole’!” and find that when folks want some Mexican food, instead of hitting their local Cantina, they’ll be calling you to find out if you have any reservations left for the evening. And that, as Martha says, is a good thing.
So, a few things you should know before you get started.
One, is that while this recipe is not hard it is a bit time consuming and requires several steps.
Two, this recipe will require you to shred an entire rotisserie chicken.
Three, this recipe is entirely delicious and worth every minute of effort you put in.
So, here we go with…
Stacked Enchiladas
(adapted from Matthew Amster-Burtin’s Stacked Green Chile Enchiladas from the book, Hungry Monkey)
Rotisserie Chicken
You can make this or you can make your life easy and go to Costco and get one
- Shred your entire rotisserie chicken, cover her and put her in the fridge for later.
Smoky Beans
(Matthew calls them, Cowboy Beans), makes about 4 cups and should serve 4.
- *4 slices of turkey bacon (you can also use regular bacon, I have some beloved non-pork eaters so I always use turkey)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (I added a bit more)
- *Good garlic powder, 2 shakes
- 1/2 a 15oz can diced tomatoes, not drained (Muir Glen Fire-Roasted are what Matthew uses and they are the best)
- 2 15oz cans of pinto beans, not drained (you can also cook the beans from scratch, which I often do which makes this even better)
- 1 T minced canned pickled jalapeños, optional
- 2 T minces cilantro
- Salt, to taste
Actually, I usually quadruple this recipe. I am rarely serving only four people when I make this and the leftovers make excellent lunch and dinner or gifts for your guests to take home.
In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until it gets crispy. Then add your garlic, and cook about 30 seconds, stirring. Add your tomatoes and cook about 4 minutes, keep stirring to make sure everything gets combined and doesn’t stick. Stir in your beans and simmer uncovered for approximately 15-20 minutes over med-low heat. If your using the jalapeño, add it now. Add cilantro. Add salt, if needed. Your beans will be a bit soupy and that is also, a good thing.
You can make these early, even a day to two ahead and stick it in the fridge. In my humble opinion, the beans taste even better after the flavors had even more time to combine.
Green Chile Sauce
Also makes about 4 cups
Okay, I am a Hispanic woman, and so I must say that this sauce is not going to be like the green chile our Grandmas make but all of the ingredients make it very authentic and you get a ton of flavor without getting the heat that can make it hard for some to eat.
- 1.5 lbs of fresh Anaheim Chiles
- 12 oz tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- *1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (I omit this)
- *2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2-4 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 T cornstarch, dissolved in 2 T water
First of all you wanna get those chiles roasted, so put them on the grill or under a broiler until they are well blackened. When cool, peel the chiles and remove the core and seeds. Mince chiles and set them aside.
Now, boil a pot of water and add tomatillos. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring once. Drain and puree in a food processor.
Pour puree into an empty pot with chicken broth, chiles, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Add your cornstarch, stir and return to a boil. Simmer an additional 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened and reduced to about 4 cups.
I usually double this recipe because I really like to smother everything with Green Chile.
Corn Tortillas
- corn tortillas (as many as you need to serve your Folks, I use 2 to 3 tortillas per person depending on the crowd and how high I am in the mood to stack that day.
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat, fry each tortilla 20-30 seconds on each side, until they are just beginning to brown and stiffen. Hold each tortilla over the pan with tongs to drain and place it on a paper towel on a plate.
Assembly
Okay, just like Kevin from Home Alone, don’t get scared now…
Now, take a plate and put a generous scoop of beans on it (about half cup), top with a tortilla, chicken, green chile sauce and cheese, then repeat thus layering process one or two more times depending on how many layers you would like, finish with a generous ladling of green chile and cheese.
Serve immediately. I always put out shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced onion, Mexican crema or sour cream, and Cholula.
Matthew has a completely different way of assembling and serving these, which involves broilers and crunchy cheese and broiler proof dishes…but frankly, by the time I am done with all these steps, I just want to eat and not broil anything else. If any of you gets a chance to read his book and gives the original ending a try please let me know how that goes, it really sounds delicious…
And to everyone else I offer this alternative version and I wish you a very Happy, Stacked Enchilada Filled Weekend!
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