Authentic Enchiladas

Enmoladas, enchiladas, enfrijoladas, en-anything-adas. This is a common word structure in Mexican cuisine, and simply means a lightly fried corn tortilla, dipped or covered in whatever the root word is (mole, chile and frijoles, respectively). Authentic Mexican enchiladas can be as simple as the name (and the above picture) suggests, but the true genius of the enchilada comes out as you build the plate up with raw onions, cheese, shredded chicken, lettuce and crema.

I resisted going authentic on the enchilada subject for a long time. One of my favorite meals, in flavor, ease and good time memories, is American style enchiladas from a recipe off of the Kraft Mexican blend cheese bag. I absolutely love those flour tortillas wrapped around supermarket rotisserie chicken, topped with canned salsa and baked with melty yellow and white cheeses. Eventually, I was won over and tried the real thing...and was happy that I did. While I'm still unsure if they reach the same high opinion of American enchiladas in my mind, they are still delicious, just a little different.

Ingerdients
16 corn tortillas
vegetable oil, for frying
2 cups salsa roja
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup mexican crema (or sour cream)
1 cup queso fresco (or another crumbly white cheese)

Directions

1 - Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a medium saute pan over low heat. Lightly fry the tortillas, less than 30 seconds on each side (NOT crispy!)

2 - After removing each tortilla from oil, immediately dip the tortillas into warm salsa. Remove with a spatula and carefully roll up on a plate.

3 - With four enchiladas to a plate, top the enchiladas with an extra spoonful of leftover salsa.

4 - Add onion slices, shredded chicken, lettuce, crema and cheese (in that order).

5 - Dig in! (With a spoon, ideally - a fork will be messy.)