Hot Enchiladas

Only six days to Cinco de Mayo, but you won’t want to wait that long to taste some of the greatest enchiladas we’ve come across.

Forget that vision of enchiladas as something you get on combination plates or in TV dinners. There’s a whole world of enchilada cookery that has nothing to do with opening a can of sauce and pouring it over a tortilla stuffed with cheese.

“Enchilada” simply means a tortilla that is coated with chile, and the concept goes back to pre-Hispanic Mexico. Over the centuries, many variations have appeared--the flat enchiladas of San Luis Potosi and New Mexico, for instance, and enchiladas suizas, so named because they are creamy with dairy products.

In the United States, we have experienced the craze for crab enchiladas, introduced in San Francisco. And who hasn’t eaten the homely enchilada casserole, composed of layers of tortillas, sauce and filling?

In Mexico, enchiladas might contain beans, eggs, fish, shrimp or potatoes and chorizo, not just beef, chicken or cheese. Or tortillas might simply be dipped in chile sauce and rolled without a filling, then sprinkled with crumbled cotija cheese or queso enchilado--cheese coated with chili powder. Instead of the Cheddar and Jack of American fast food operations, an enchilada might be filled with soft white queso fresco.

The most suitable enchiladas for the coming holiday might be mole enchiladas: Cinco de Mayo commemorates a battle at Puebla, the city that gave birth to Mexico’s famous chocolate-flavored mole.

If making this notoriously complex sauce intimidates you, don’t hesitate to try Ofelia Alksne’s version. Instead of working with the usual bushels of ingredients that produce vats of sauce, you will make just enough for eight enchiladas. That’s certainly a manageable quantity. And most of the ingredients are in supermarkets, although you might have to seek out one with a large Latino clientele for mulato and slim black pasilla negro chiles.

Alksne, owner of Casa Blanca restaurant in La Mesa, is from Torreon in the state of Coahuila. She has reworked her grandmother’s recipe to produce these enchiladas, adding modern concepts like reducing fat. Instead of frying tortillas in lots of oil to soften them for rolling, she microwaves them briefly, then fries them in only a little oil.

She has different ideas for toppings too. Although she’ll use Jack cheese and sour cream, she might as an alternative crumble feta cheese over the enchiladas and add a spoonful of yogurt. And she might sprinkle them with finely chopped Italian parsley instead of cilantro.

You don’t have to fry the tortillas for El Portal’s spinach enchiladas at all. Just heat them quickly on a griddle, says Abel Ramirez, owner of the Pasadena Mexican restaurant. The recipe evolved when Ramirez decided to put flat New Mexico-style enchiladas on the menu.

The filling includes baby shrimp as well as spinach, but the topping is traditional: tomatillo sauce, Cheddar and Jack cheeses, avocado and sour cream. Pico de gallo salsa, a fresh chopped mixture of tomatoes, onions, serrano chiles, cilantro and garlic, is sauteed as part of the filling. Make extra and serve it with chips and margaritas if you are having a Cinco de Mayo party.

For enchiladas with red chile sauce, we turned to Steven Ravago of San Diego, head chef at Sweet Lew’s Barbeque in La Jolla and, on the side, an ardent explorer of Mexican cuisine.

Ravago believes in innovation and using whatever is on hand. “Like most of my Mexican cooking, my enchiladas are quite spontaneous,” he says. “Leftovers quickly become an enchilada stuffing. Leftover chicken, beef, turkey or even vegetables all work well.

“Likewise, my red enchilada sauces are subject to the chiles I have on hand. I blend anchos or guajillos and pasillas de Oaxaca or other chiles that I bring back from my trips to Mexico to create unique sauces. Sometimes the results can be quite fiery.”

Ravago is equally inventive in choosing cheeses for the filling. And he often adds caramelized onions to either meat or cheese enchiladas. “The onions have a nice texture and taste that complement the corn tortilla,” he says.

Good as the red sauce is, Ravago says his signature enchilada sauce is a green tomatillo mixture. A key step is roasting tomatillos, fresh chiles, onion and garlic for 45 minutes before grinding them. “I feel that slow roasting helps to re-create the original flavors, the way enchiladas might have tasted [long ago],” he says. “The fun thing about enchiladas is that they are a free-form thing. They become whatever you want them to be.”

STEVEN’S GREEN ENCHILADA SAUCE

Steven Ravago likes this sauce best with chicken or turkey enchiladas.

2 pounds tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 large white onions, coarsely chopped

5 cloves garlic

5 or 6 jalapeno or serrano chiles, stemmed

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons corn oil or lard, melted

3/4 cup chopped cilantro

Place tomatillos, onions, garlic and chiles in roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add oil and mix to coat all ingredients. Roast at 450 degrees 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Put in food processor and pulse to coarse consistency. Add cilantro and blend. Add water if too thick. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour into saucepan and keep warm while preparing enchiladas.

Makes 2 1/2 cups sauce. Each 1/4-cup serving:

79 calories; 357 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.33 gram fiber.

STEVEN’S CARAMELIZED ONIONS

1 tablespoon butter

1 large white onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon sugar

Heat small skillet over low heat. Add butter. As soon as butter melts, add onion and cook, stirring every few minutes to keep onion from browning too much on 1 side, about 12 minutes. Stir in sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown, 12 to 13 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Add onions to meat filling in Steven’s Red Enchiladas or omit meat and make enchiladas with Caramelized Onions and cheese.

About 1/3 cup. Each 1-tablespoon serving:

39 calories; 24 mg sodium; 6 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.13 gram fiber.

EL PORTAL’S FLAT SPINACH ENCHILADA

Abel Ramirez, owner of El Portal Mexican restaurant in Pasadena, suggests grilled chicken as an alternative to shrimp. “You could serve a side dish of black beans or rice, but it is not needed since the finished enchilada is substantial enough,” he says.

8 cups loosely packed chopped fresh spinach, tough stems removed

1/4 pound cooked baby shrimp or 1 cup diced grilled chicken

3 tablespoons Pico de Gallo (See recipe this page)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 corn tortillas, heated

3/4 cup Tomatillo Sauce (See recipe this page)

1 cup mixed shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 avocado, sliced

Saute spinach, shrimp and Pico de Gallo in olive oil in skillet over medium heat until spinach is wilted, about 4 minutes.

Place 1 heated tortilla in individual baking dish or in casserole large enough to hold 2 tortillas side by side. Cover tortilla with half of cooked spinach mixture. Add small amount Tomatillo Sauce and sprinkle of cheeses. Top with second tortilla. Repeat with remaining 2 tortillas. Pour Tomatillo Sauce evenly over enchiladas to cover. Sprinkle each with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until hot through, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Top with sour cream and arrange avocado slices around enchiladas. Accompany with black beans or rice if desired.

2 servings. Each serving:

796 calories; 935 mg sodium; 166 mg cholesterol; 49 grams fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 42 grams protein; 6.83 grams fiber.

PICO DE GALLO

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 serrano chile, or more to taste, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice

Salt, pepper

Combine tomato, onion, chile, garlic and cilantro in bowl. Add 1 tablespoon lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Taste and add more lime juice if needed.

TOMATILLO SAUCE

6 to 8 tomatillos, husks removed

1 onion, 1/2 chopped and 1/2 sliced

1 tomato, 1/2 chopped and 1/2 sliced

2 serrano chiles stemmed, seeded if desired

Few sprigs cilantro

Water

2 tablespoons oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

1 cup chicken stock

2 bay leaves

Dash cumin

Salt, pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Bring tomatillos, chopped onions, chopped tomato, chiles, cilantro and water to half of depth of ingredients to boil in a saucepan until tomatillos are tender, about 10 minutes. Cool 1936484711 Heat oil in separate saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced onion, garlic, sliced tomato,celery and bell pepper and cook until onion is translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatillo mixture, bay leaves, cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil over medium hea1948279150740324212 About 3 cups. Each 1-tablespoon serving:

13 calories; 26 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 1 grams fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.07 gram fiber.

CASA BLANCA CHICKEN ENCHILADAS IN MOLE

Most of us regard mole sauce as difficult and complicated, but Ofelia Alksne, owner of Casa Blanca restaurant in La Mesa, has reduced it to an easy recipe that is wonderful with enchiladas.

3 chicken breast halves

1/4 onion, plus 2 onions, chopped

Salt

Water

1 dried mulato chile

4 dried pasilla negro chiles

4 dried ancho chiles

5 to 6 tablespoons canola or extra-virgin olive oil

4 whole cloves garlic, plus 2 chopped

6 plum tomatoes, peeled and seeded

1 tablespoon blanched almonds

1 tablespoon unsalted raw peanuts

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 bay leaf

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

1/3 slice white bread, toasted, or 1 corn tortilla

8 corn tortillas

1/2 cup shredded Jack cheese or feta cheese

1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt

1 avocado, sliced

1/3 cup black olives

Finely chopped cilantro or Italian parsley, optional

Bring chicken, 1/4 onion, salt to taste and water to cover to boil in large saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear when pricked with fork, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool. Strain broth and set aside. Discard onion. Shred chicken and set aside.

Toast mulato, pasilla and ancho chiles on griddle or in large heavy skillet. Do not let skins blacken. Remove veins and seeds. Saute 1 chopped onion in 1 tablespoon oil until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes. Puree chiles, cooked onion, 4 cloves garlic, tomatoes and 1 cup reserved chicken broth in blender. Set aside.

Toast almonds, peanuts and sesame seeds on baking sheet at 400 degrees, about 5 minutes. Grind nuts and sesame seeds in blender or small food processor until finely chopped.

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chile mixture, nuts, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add sugar and chocolate and cook until chocolate melts. Taste. Mixture should be just slightly sweet. Correct seasonings if needed. If sauce is not thick, soak bread or tortilla in small amount sauce or broth and blend until smooth. Add to remaining sauce and cook until thickened.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over high heat. Add remaining chopped onion and chopped garlic and saute until limp but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add reserved shredded chicken and 1/3 cup mole sauce. Mix well.

Wrap tortillas 1 or 2 at a time in dampened paper towel and microwave on high heat until just softened, about 20 seconds. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet. Add tortillas 1 at a time and fry until soft, about 5 seconds per side, adding more oil as needed for all tortillas. Place on plate. Place 1/8 chicken mixture down center and roll to enclose. Place seam-side down in baking dish. Continue until all enchiladas are filled. Pour sauce over, covering enchiladas well.

Bake at 375 degrees 15 minutes. If using Jack cheese, sprinkle over enchiladas 5 minutes before removing from oven. If using feta, crumble over enchiladas after removing from oven. Garnish with sour cream or yogurt, avocado slices and black olives. Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley if desired. Serve at once.

4 servings. Each serving without sour cream, avocado or olives:

692 calories; 394 mg sodium; 82 mg cholesterol; 41 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 36 grams protein; 3.99 grams fiber.

* Casafina plates by Three Sisters Sales on cover and this page from Grieco’s, San Pedro, and Twigs, Santa Monica. Linens and annie j. wooden trays from Philip Paul Designs, Venice Beach.