Stacked Chicken Enchiladas
Photo: Leo Gong
Though the sauce for this impressive layered enchilada dish tastes complex, it's made with canned chile sauce doctored up with sweet spices, raisins, pine nuts, and smoky chipotle chiles. For a hotter sauce, add more chipotles and adobo sauce to the chicken mixture.
How to Make It
Step 1
1
Preheat oven to 375°. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook onion with olive oil, stirring often until softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
2
Stir in 3/4 cup red chile sauce, the pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, and vinegar. Add chicken, then bring mixture to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat. Pour remaining red chile sauce into a pie pan.
Step 3
3
To make enchilada stacks, dip 1 tortilla in chile sauce in pie pan to coat. Place on an ovenproof dinner plate. Repeat with another tortilla on a second plate. Spread each tortilla evenly with a heaping 1/3 cup chicken mixture, then with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering with 8 more tortillas, dipping them in sauce, then adding chicken mixture and cheese to make 2 stacks of 5 layers. (You'll use all the chicken but not all the cheese.) Dip the last 2 tortillas in sauce, place each, curved side down, on stack, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Step 4
4
Bake enchiladas until hot in the center and cheese bubbles on top, 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 5
5
Meanwhile, pour remaining chile sauce from the pie pan into a microwave-safe pitcher and cook in a microwave oven on full power until simmering, 1 to 2 minutes. To make the salad, stir together radishes, lime juice, and extra-virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Just before serving, stir in cabbage and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 6
6
Top each enchilada with a small mound of salad and cut in thirds or quarters to serve. Offer with remaining salad and chile sauce to add to taste.
Step 7
7
Note: Nutritional analysis is per 1/4-stack serving.
Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can (28 oz.) red chile sauce, divided
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 2 tsp. sauce (see Notes)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 3/4 cups shredded white and/or dark chicken meat (from one 2 1/2- to 3-lb. rotisserie chicken)
12 corn tortillas (6 in. wide; see Notes)
3 cups coarsely shredded jack cheese
2 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 to 6 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage (see Notes)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Step 1
1
Preheat oven to 375°. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook onion with olive oil, stirring often until softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 2
2
Stir in 3/4 cup red chile sauce, the pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, and vinegar. Add chicken, then bring mixture to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat. Pour remaining red chile sauce into a pie pan.
Step 3
3
To make enchilada stacks, dip 1 tortilla in chile sauce in pie pan to coat. Place on an ovenproof dinner plate. Repeat with another tortilla on a second plate. Spread each tortilla evenly with a heaping 1/3 cup chicken mixture, then with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering with 8 more tortillas, dipping them in sauce, then adding chicken mixture and cheese to make 2 stacks of 5 layers. (You'll use all the chicken but not all the cheese.) Dip the last 2 tortillas in sauce, place each, curved side down, on stack, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Step 4
4
Bake enchiladas until hot in the center and cheese bubbles on top, 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 5
5
Meanwhile, pour remaining chile sauce from the pie pan into a microwave-safe pitcher and cook in a microwave oven on full power until simmering, 1 to 2 minutes. To make the salad, stir together radishes, lime juice, and extra-virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Just before serving, stir in cabbage and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 6
6
Top each enchilada with a small mound of salad and cut in thirds or quarters to serve. Offer with remaining salad and chile sauce to add to taste.
Step 7
7
Note: Nutritional analysis is per 1/4-stack serving.
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