Enchiladas San BlasEnchiladas San Blas

Yields 12 enchiladas / Serves 4

This is a very simple open-faced enchilada recipe that gets its unique flavor from frying instead of toasting the dried chiles.

INGREDIENTS

For the sauce:

  2 mulato chiles, cleaned, destemmed, deveined, and deseeded

  2 ancho chiles, cleaned, destemmed, deveined, and deseeded

  ½ cup (110 grams) lard or vegetable oil

  Approximately 4 cups (1 liter) whole milk

  ½ cup (60 grams) queso fresco, crumbled

  Kosher salt to taste

For the assembly:

  12 corn tortillas

For the garnish:

  Queso fresco, crumbled

DIRECTIONS

Start with the sauce:

  Heat the lard or oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chiles and fry briefly on both sides until softened.

  Remove the chiles from the oil, blot with paper towels, and place in a blender.

  Add 3 cups (710 ml) milk, and purée on medium speed until smooth.

  Strain the sauce into a pan over low heat. Add queso fresco, stirring constantly.

  When the sauce is warm, add just enough remaining milk to attain a medium sauce consistency. Season with salt to taste. Cover, set aside, and keep warm.

Assemble the enchiladas:

  Place a pool of sauce on each of 4 warm individual serving plates.

  Coat each tortilla generously with the remaining sauce, fold in half, and place slightly overlapping on the plates, 3 per serving.

  Garnish with queso fresco.

Notes: Many chefs reuse lard or oil used for frying chiles, because it is infused with chile flavor. To make homemade red tortillas see page 53.