My husband lived in Santa Fe when he was very young, and he’s addicted to New Mexican food. Green chiles specifically…posole, burritos, enchiladas (the flat ones with a fried egg on top)…anything that has that smoky green chile flavor. Any time I ask him for food requests, these enchiladas are pretty much the only thing he suggests.

Every year at this time, one of our local grocery stores has a Hatch Green Chile Festival. On the weekends, they have huge roasters in front of the store, roasting chiles on the spot. In the store, they have all sorts of green chile themed products. They make this really great green chile pesto that A calls ‘crack’ because he can’t get enough of it. They also sell sausages, hamburger patties, steaks, fish, and chicken using green chiles in some way. In the bakery, there are green chile tortillas, green chile scones, green chile bread…I even saw a green chile brownie! It’s quite the thing. We usually buy 5-10 pounds of the fresh roasted chiles and freeze them to be used the rest of the year. Unfortunately, we were out of town for this year’s festival and missed the fresh chiles. When we returned, I got to Central Market as soon as I could, hoping to find they were not yet sold out. Luckily, there were a few products (A’s crack was there), but no fresh chiles.

Though defeated, I was still determined to make A some of his favorite enchiladas. Time for some good ‘ole trusty Bueno.

Anytime we’re out of fresh chiles, I fall back on Bueno brand green chiles. They’re the go-to frozen green chile for folks in New Mexico when chiles are out of season. You can find them in the frozen food sections of most ‘hip’ stores. We actually requested them at Central Market a few years ago and they started carrying them a few months later (purely coincidence, I’m sure).

To do Green Chile Enchiladas well, it really is all about the sauce. Over the 12 years we’ve been together, I’ve tried to perfect my green chile sauce to make it something A will rave about as much as his favorite restaurant. Though my sauce isn’t as great as the untouchable Tomasita’s, I have concocted a sauce that has great consistency, authentic texture and a pretty fabulous flavor–if I do say so myself.

This ratio for the cornstarch mixture is the one I’ve found works best to thicken the green chile sauce. Make sure you mix the cornstarch and water separately before adding to the sauce.

Here, you can see the difference between the sauce–with and without cornstarch.

Green Chile Enchiladas

Green Chile Sauce:
2 T oil
2 cups green chiles, chopped
4 shallots, chopped (or 1 onion)
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 cups broth (chicken or veggie)
3 T water
2 T cornstarch
Preparation:
In medium sized saucepan, saute onions and garlic in oil. When onions are translucent, add green chiles, tomatoes, and broth. Cook for about 3 minutes until vegetables simmer slightly. While cooking, mix water and cornstarch in separate bowl. Add to vegetables. Simmer on low heat until ready to use.


Enchiladas:
8 corn tortillas
1 pound grated cheese (I like to use mostly monterrey jack, with a touch of cheddar)
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup green onions, chopped (I swear green onions are the secret to a great enchilada)
Green Chile Sauce
Preparation:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, mix cheese, green onions and cilantro. Assemble enchiladas by putting a spoonful of sauce in the casserole dish, placing one tortilla flat on top of the sauce, placing a layer of cheese, covering with another tortilla, and topping with green chile sauce. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 enchiladas.

To serve these enchiladas in authentic New Mexican style, fry an egg and place it on top of the enchilada. Not a fan? It’s just as good without…

Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4
Menu: enchiladas, pinto beans, Spanish rice, salad
Drink Pairing: margarita


Next on my to-do list? A red chile sauce that compares to my favorite Santa Fe restaurant’s.


Related – Semi-Homemade Green Chile Enchiladas