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GREEN LIGHT Tomatillos have a nice, bright acidity that gives the salsa verde its invigorating punch.
Photo: CHELSEA KYLE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES, PROP STYLING BY VANESSA VAZQUEZ
The Chef: Diana Davila
Her Restaurant: Mi Tocaya Antojería, Chicago
What She’s Known For: Authentic Mexican cooking—traditional dishes and regional classics as well as her own creations—served with warmth and hospitality
“MY MOTHER makes them, and my aunt. My grandmother made them,” chef Diana Davila said of enchiladas verdes, her first Slow Food Fast recipe. Cloaked in a bright tomatillo salsa, corn tortillas wrap a filling of shredded chicken, sautéed onions and cotija cheese. Ms. Davila tops hers with a watercress salad and a dollop of sour cream.
If you use rotisserie chicken, this meal comes together especially fast. Once shredded, the meat simmers with sautéed onions and a bit of broth. Ms. Davila warms the tortillas on a comal (griddle) or in a skillet until they’re soft and foldable. You can also quickly warm a stack of tortillas, wrapped in a kitchen towel, in the microwave.
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“The salsa ties everything together,” Ms. Davila said. “When it meets the chicken, cheese and sour cream you get an incredible richness.”
Ingredients
- ¼ cup sunflower oil
- 1½ medium white onions, thinly sliced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves sliced garlic
- 2 pounds roasted or poached chicken, shredded
- 1½ cup chicken broth
- 1½ ounces cotija cheese, crumbled
- 6 tomatillos, husks removed
- 1 serrano chile, stemmed and halved
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped, plus leaves and thin stems from ½ bunch
- 2 limes
- 1 bunch watercress, chopped
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed until pliable
- Sour cream, to serve
Directions
- Set a large pan over medium-high heat and swirl in sunflower oil. Add half the sliced onions, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until aromatic, 1 minute. Stir in chicken and pour in ½ cup broth. Cook until broth mostly cooks off, 10 minutes. Stir in 1 ounce crumbled cheese.
- Meanwhile, make the salsa: In a small pot over medium-high heat, combine 1 cup broth and tomatillos, bring to a simmer and cook until tomatillos soften, 10 minutes. Transfer tomatillos to a blender, reserving cooking liquid. Add chile and chopped cilantro to blender and purée until smooth. Loosen with splashes of tomatillo cooking liquid as needed. Pour salsa into a clean pot and simmer over medium-high heat until salsa tightens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and lime juice to taste.
- Make the salad: Toss together remaining onions, watercress, cilantro leaves and stems, and remaining cheese. Toss in zest of 1 lime, enough lime juice and olive oil to lightly coat, and salt to taste.
- Assemble the enchiladas: Working with one warm tortilla at a time, place a scant ¼ cup chicken filling in the center. Fold tortilla over filling, and shingle filled enchiladas onto a serving platter or plate. Ladle hot salsa over enchiladas until it smothers them and pools around them. Garnish with salad and serve with sour cream alongside or dolloped on top.
—Kitty Greenwald is a chef, food writer and the co-author of ‘Slow Fires’ (Clarkson Potter)
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