Enchiladas suizas with chicken and creamy green sauce Recipe
Enchiladas suizas are baked tortilla rolls filled with chicken, topped with a green tomatillo and cream sauce, then baked with cheese. The name “suizas” (Swiss) comes from the generous amount of cheese and cream, which reminded Mexicans of Europe. It’s a comfort-food style dish, perfect for a calm, hearty oven-baked dinner.
Enchiladas suizas combine a typically Mexican green tomatillo sauce with an almost European abundance of cream and cheese, hence their playful name. The dish has a creamy, slightly tangy note that perfectly balances the delicate chicken and the browned cheese on top. Straight from the oven, it smells like a cross between Sunday lunch and a street cantina in Mexico City.
Chef's tips
Cook the chicken only until it easily pulls apart into strands – if it stretches, it hasn’t cooked long enough; if it’s dry, it’s overcooked. Don’t let the green sauce come to a rolling boil after adding the cream, or it may split; it should just gently “wink” around the edges of the pan. Warm the tortillas briefly and fill them right away – if they cool down, they’ll start to crack when rolled.
How to serve
Serve enchiladas suizas straight from the oven with a quick salad of red onion, cilantro and lime to add brightness. To drink, a light, dry wine (such as sauvignon blanc) or water with cucumber and lime slices works very well. It’s an ideal dish for a relaxed family Saturday lunch when you want to prepare everything in advance and just bake before serving.
Ingredients
- chicken breast - 400 g
- corn tortillas - 12 piece
- tomatillos - 400 g
- chili pepper - 1 piece
- onion - 1 piece
- garlic - 3 clove
- cream - 200 ml
- yellow cheese grated - 200 g
- cilantro - 0.5 bunch
- chicken stock - 500 ml
- vegetable oil - 3 tablespoon
- salt - 1.25 teaspoon
Preparation
- Place the chicken breast in a pot, cover with stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 15–20 minutes, until the meat is cooked through.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pot, let it cool slightly, then shred into thin strands using two forks.
- Cut the tomatillos (or green tomatoes) into pieces, dice the onion, finely chop the garlic, and cut the chili into smaller pieces.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium heat, add the onion and fry for 3–4 minutes until softened and slightly translucent.
- Add the garlic, chili and tomatillos and fry for another 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes soften slightly.
- Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender, add a handful of cilantro, about 150 ml of the chicken cooking stock and 1 teaspoon of salt, and blend to a smooth green sauce.
- Pour the sauce back into the pan, add the cream and mix thoroughly, then heat over low heat for 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened, but do not let it come to a full boil.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C. Briefly warm the tortillas in a dry pan for 15–20 seconds on each side until pliable.
- Quickly dip each tortilla in the warm green sauce, place it on a plate, add a portion of shredded chicken, roll it up and arrange in a baking dish seam-side down.
- When all the enchiladas are in the dish, pour over the remaining sauce and sprinkle evenly with grated cheese.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and lightly browned at the edges. Before serving, sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro.
Storage
Store baked enchiladas covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat covered in the oven at 170°C until heated through, adding a splash of stock or cream if they seem dry. Frozen, unbaked enchiladas should be thawed in the fridge overnight before baking as directed.
