Enchiladas Rojas Recipe

Enchiladas Rojas is one of those dishes that are cooked differently in every home. Each cook has his/her own recipe, so this is my own version based on my mom’s way of cooking them. In my hometown, it is common to have enchiladas for breakfast or brunch.

Course Antojitos, Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword chicken enchilada recipes, enchilada sauce recipe, Red Enchiladas Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 399kcal

Author Mely Martínez

Ingredients

4 guajillo peppers seeds removed.
4 ancho peppers seeds removed.
2 garlic cloves chopped
¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
12 corn tortillas
2 cups of shredded beef pork or chicken (optional)
1 ½ cup of fresh cheese crumble
½ cup of white onion finely chopped
⅓ cup of vegetable oil

Optional Garnishes:

2 cups of pre-cooked diced potatoes and 2 cups of pre-cook diced carrots.
Finely shredded lettuce or cabbage and radishes

Instructions

Let's start first with the enchilada sauce. Slightly roast the peppers in a hot griddle, pressing them flat with the help of a spatula. Make sure NOT to burn them. This step takes a few seconds on each side of the peppers.
Once roasted, place them in a saucepan with water and turn the heat to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes or when they look soft.
Remove saucepan from stove and let them cool for another 10-15 minutes. The pepper skins should look soft.
After the resting period, drain the peppers and place in the blender along with the garlic cloves. Add ½ cup of clean water and blend until you have a smooth sauce. If necessary, strain the sauce into a large bowl using a fine strainer. Season with the oregano, salt, and pepper, and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, just to keep the red enchiladas warm while you finish assembling them. Add the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil little by little as needed. To much oil will get a soggy tortilla.
Dip the tortilla into the enchilada sauce to lightly coat each side.
Place it in the Frying Comal-pan or skillet and briefly fry a few seconds on both sides. Add more vegetable oil to the skillet as needed. Place fried tortillas in a dish while you make the rest of the tortillas to keep warm in the oven.
To assemble the red enchiladas, first, place the filling in the center of the tortilla and fold it. Sometimes I place a meat filling into the center of the tortilla and then roll it, like in the pictures above.
Sprinkle the enchiladas with the cheese and onion. Add the garnish of your choice and enjoy!
If you decide to add the potatoes and carrots as a garnish: Peel potatoes and carrots, cut into cubes and boil until almost tender but still firm. Then drain and cool.
Use the same frying pan where you fried the red enchiladas to lightly fry the potatoes, adding a little more oil. The potatoes and carrots will be coated with some of the sauce sticking to the frying pan. Season with salt and garnish with cheese.

Video

Notes

*This is my mother’s recipe. You can play around with the number of peppers, using more ancho peppers than guajillo or even making the sauce using just one of the peppers in the recipe until you find the taste that you and your family enjoy better.

*My mom first dips the tortilla into the salsa and then fries them. It gets a little messy but the final result is worth the cleaning afterward.

* Crumbled Fresh cheese is one of the traditional fillings.

* The Sauce can be made one of two days ahead and also freezes well up to 2 months.

Nutrition