A note on my preparation of the chicken: We rarely have enough chicken left over from a meal to make this dish. Even though I do prefer a combination of dark and light meat, I usually find myself using boneless chicken breasts. I don't like them much because they don't have hardly any flavor by themselves. To add a little interest to the proceedings, I use my stovetop cast iron grill and sear them well, leaving lovely stripes. A possibility would be adding cumin, chili powder, garlic, onion, whatever you think would work, to the breasts before grilling them.
The most common recipes seem to have several things in common:
- Cubed cooked chicken
- onion
- garlic
- bell pepper
- cheese, either jack or cheddar
- tomatoes
- chili powder
- chicken broth
- corn tortillas
- various kinds of cream of crap soup* (pardon for calling it that but, hey! It's nasty stuff no matter what you do with it.)
Now, honestly, this will work. It's fast, it's easy and, for a tired or unskilled cook, it will work just fine. The only problem, in my opinion, is that while it will taste fine, it looks weird and feels gelatinous in the mouth. I find both unappealing and blame that on the canned soup.
Unfried corn tortillas are a problem, too. They are basically raw and when used in that state become kind of slimy. They also don't cook up well and the dish will often end up tasting strongly of corn meal, which isn't really the desired outcome. I'm not even commenting much on bagged tortilla chips, except I tried them and didn't like the result in the least. They were just kind of "there," if you get my drift.** No contribution to the flavor of the dish and the consistency of the chips cooked in the mixture mentioned above was, well, gross. The outcome might have been at least acceptable if they had maintained a modicum of crispness (which is not expected of the tortillas when used) but they went flabby and tasteless. Ick.
My suggestions to detour around these difficulties involves a bit more work but, for us, that extra time is worth every minute. Here is my middle-of-the-road procedure which will feed 4 to 6 people until they're stuffed, it's neither terribly time-consuming nor extremely simple:
Sauce Preparation:
- 3 tablespoons butter or cooking oil
- 1 very large onion, coarse chop
- 1/2 cup diced jalapenos or a milder hot pepper if you have tender mouths
- 1 large green bell pepper, seeded, coarse chop
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin (change the proportion of the spices to suit yourself. We like spicy and like cumin.)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 quart canned tomatoes, chunk are best but stewed will work
- (some folks like celery, mushrooms and various fresh chilis in the sauce. Go ahead and try it.)
Over low heat in a large heavy pot, heat the butter or oil. Add the onion, sweat until soft. Add the chili peppers and bell pepper and continue softening. Use your nose to tell when to add the chili and cumin, the aromas of the veg should blend, when they do, add and stir well. By the time the onion and peppers are soft, the chili and cumin will have released their aroma and flavor which infuses the vegetables. At this point, add the garlic, stirring well. Raise the heat slightly, continue to stir and add the tomatoes. Simmer to allow the combination to thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth, or enough to work the roux
Combine to make a roux, oil first, flour next, stirring like mad until the floury taste is gone, slowly add the broth and stir, once again like mad, until smooth. Allow this to cool slightly, then stir your basic sauce into the vegetables.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease a 13 x 9 inch casserole or a 3 quart casserole.
Tortilla preparation
- Frying oil, enough to float a corn tortilla
- 12 raw corn tortillas, white or yellow is your call (the yellow ones seem to hold together better than the white ones)
Heat oil in a heavy pan, keep depth of oil sufficient to allow the tortillas to float or they will stick to the pan bottom and rip. Fry each tortilla until it puffs, flip, fry until it puffs again. This will be just enough time to cook the tortillas but not to the point they are getting crisp. Drain on paper towels or a cotton cloth.
Assemble dish:
- 3 cups cooked chicken, cubed less than 1/2 in size
- 3 cups shredded cheese, monterey jack and cheddar are good combination (if all you have is processed cheese, use it but it won't taste as good.)
Layer 6 of the cooked tortillas in the pregreased pan. Place one half of the chicken on the tortillas, pour half of the sauce over. Add half the cheese. Repeat. Bake at 350 until browned and bubbly. This will take 35 to 40 minutes in a 13 x 9 pan, up to 2 hours in a deep casserole.
Remove from oven, let stand for up to 30 minutes for the flavor to develop and the texture to improve.
*I object, on principle, to those canned cream soups. I confess to using them every so often when pressed for time or if I'm just tired or not feeling well. They can be a godsend for inexperienced cooks who haven't learned to make a roux or white sauce but if you know how to do those simple basics, it's better to take the extra time and effort for a much better outcome.
**If you have no time, no real tortillas or are just too slothful to fry something, use the things. Even better, just don't make the recipe at all until you get something better, eh?
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