Chilaquiles (Tortilla Casserole)

Photo by Michael Sofronski , www.michaelsofronski.com

 

In Mexico, chilaquiles are eaten for breakfast. I used to make them as a brunch dish at home. But at Zarela, they became our most popular luncheon and dinner appetizer, which I suppose says something about different breakfast preferences. This is one of my most requested recipes but one that never turns out the way people remember  it from the restaurant and the reason is that invariably they will skip one or two steps.  So here it is the way e made it.

The dish is a simple one, traditionally made by cooking tortilla strips in a simmering sauce which is enriched with grated cheese, cream, and an optional cooked meat (often chicken) and baked until heated through.  My version is quite rich and has many layers of flavor.

Ingredients

12 commercial corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil for frying

l  pound white cheddar cheese, shredded

3  cups Pollo Guisado (see recipe below)

2  cups Crema Agria Preparada (see recipe below)

l  1/2  cups Salsa de Tomatillo con Crema (recipe follows)

Cooking directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F .

Cut tortillas in half; stacking a few at a time, cut into l/4-inch strips. In large heavy saucepan or deep fryer, heat oil to 350 . Fry tortilla chips in batches, a large handful at a time (do not try to use more). With a skimmer, remove each batch immediately as soon as it stops sizzling; tortilla pieces will scorch if left in longer. Drain on paper towels and let cool completely.

Combine tortilla strips, shredded cheese, and chicken in large bowl; toss to distribute ingredients evenly. Place the mixture in a l3 x 9-inch Pyrex baking dish or other wide, shallow ovenproof container. Spread the sour cream over the top and bake until heated through, about 25 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the tomatillo sauce just to the simmer, stirring often to keep it from scorching. Pour sauce over the casserole and serve immediately.

Serves 6 – 8.

Salsa de Tomatillo con Crema (Tomatillo Sauce with Cream)

Canned tomatillos are really a last resort here. They taste nothing like the real thing.

Chilaquiles are only the beginning of what you can do with the sauce. It is wonderful with grilled or poached fish, especially salmon, or pan-fried chicken cutlets.

Ingredients:

l pound fresh tomatillos, husks removed (about l2 large tomatillos), or one 15-ounce can tomatillos, drained

l/4 cup vegetable oil

l commercial corn tortilla

l  small onion, chopped

2  garlic cloves, chopped

2 fresh serrano or jalapeno chiles (see p. 000), stems    and tops removed (more can be used to taste)

l cup cilantro leaves (l large bunch cilantro, leaves stripped)

l teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

l cup heavy cream

Salt to taste

Cooking directions:

Place fresh tomatillos in a medium saucepan and add water to cover (about 3 cups). Bring to a boil and cook uncovered on high heat until tomatillos have changed color, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving l/2 cup of the cooking liquid. If using canned tomatillos, omit this step.

In small heavy skillet, heat the oil until almost sizzling and fry the tortilla until crisp and golden. Drain it on paper towels and when cool enough to handle, break into pieces.

Place the cooked tomatillos with the reserved liquid in container of blender. (If using canned tomatillos, no extra liquid is necessary.) Add the chopped onion, garlic, chiles, cilantro, broken tortilla pieces, and sugar. Process for about l minute, or until smoothly pureed.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over high heat until hot and bubbling. Add the tomatillo mixture and heavy cream. Season with salt to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until somewhat thickened.

YIELD: about 3  – 3  l/2 cups.

Can be kept up to a week tightly covered in refrigerator. It may break down and look curdled but will smooth out when reheated.

POLLO GUISADO

(Poached and Sauteed Chicken)

 

This is one of my real standbys, the basis of many dishes at Zarela. As the chicken emerges from the stockpot it is plain poached chicken, ready to be pulled into shreds and used as is. You can do this if you want — but I always take it one step further for the extra depth and dimension of flavor that is so important to my food. I saute the shredded chicken with onion and garlic to bring out a richer dimension. If for some reason I’m on a diet and use the plain poached chicken, I use lots of herbs and spices when I add it to a recipe!

 

Pollo guisado is an incredibly useful ingredient. You can use it to make tamales, flautas, and many kinds of enchiladas.  I love it in Chilaquiles (p. 000). You can also prepare it with the same olive-raisin combination described below for Picadillo Dulce (see note on p. 000).

 

Chicken from preceding Caldo de Pollo ( cooked meat from one

3  l/2-pound chicken)

2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil

l   small onion, finely chopped (about l/2 cup)

l   small clove garlic, finely minced (about l teaspoon)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Pull chicken meat into shreds. Heat lard or vegetable oil in large saucepan or wide saute pan until hot but not smoking. Add onion and garlic; cook until translucent over medium heat. Add shredded chicken, stirring well to distribute ingredients. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Let cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors.

 

Yield: about 3 cups.

 

CREMA AGRIA PREPARADA

(Aromatic Sour Cream Mixture)

 

This is an endlessly adaptable formula for which American sour cream, though unlike the cream of my childhood, works well. I use it to make Chilaquiles, crab enchiladas, my famous rice casserole (Arroz con Crema y Poblanos, and as a dip or sauce for fried oysters, fish or shrimp, or crudites.

“Preparada” is a hard word to translate. It usually indicates that an ingredient has been “elaborated,” or converted into something a little different in the handling. The very flavorful Mexican cream is generally used plain; in my own cooking I have developed this non-traditional “prepared” version based on a sour cream mixture used by one of my early teachers, Lillian Haines.

 

2 cups cultured sour cream

l  small onion, finely chopped (about l/2 cup)

l small garlic clove, minced (l teaspoon)

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves

Salt to taste

 

Combine all ingredients and let rest 5 minutes to blend the flavors. It loses its freshness quickly but  can be held a couple of days tightly covered in the refrigerator.

 

Yield: slightly more than 2 cups