Cook's Illustrated Enchiladas Verdes

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onions, chopped or 1 cup onion
• 2 medium garlic cloves, diced or 1 tablespoon garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed well and dried
• 3 medium poblano chiles, halved lengthwise, stemmed, and seeded
• 1 -2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 dash table salt
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 cups monterey jack cheese, grated
• 8 -10 corn tortillas (depending on size and personal preference) or 8 -10 flour tortillas (depending on size and personal preference)
• 1 pinch scallion, to garnish
• sour cream, to garnish
• avocado, to garnish
• cilantro (to garnish)

Recipe

• 1 adjust oven racks to middle and highest positions and heat broiler. heat 2 tsp oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering; add onion and cook, stirring frequently until golden, 6-8 minutes. add 2 tsp garlic and cumin; cook stirring frequently until fragrant, about 30 seconds. decrease heat to low and stir in broth. add chicken breast, cover, and simmer until instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, 15 - 20 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking. transfer chicken to large bowl; place in refrigerator to cool. remove 1/4 cup liquid from saucepan and set aside; discard remaining liquid.
• 2 meanwhile, toss tomatillos and poblanos with remaining 2 tsp oil; arrange on rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, with poblanos skin-side up. broil until vegetables blacken and start to softened, 5-10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through cooking. cool 10 minutes then remove skin from poblanos (leave tomatillo skin intact). transfer tomatillos and chiles to a food processor. turn off broiler and set oven temperature to 450 degrees.
• 3 add 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, remaining tsp garlic, and reserved cooking liquid to food processor; process until sauce is somewhat chunky, about 8 1-second pulses. taste sauce; season with salt and pepper and adjust tartness by stirring in remaining sugar, 1/2 tsp at a time. set aside sauce (you should have 3 cups).
• 4 when chicken is cool, pull into shreds using hands or 2 forks. combine chicken with cilantro and 1 1/2 cups cheese, season with salt.
• 5 spread 3/4 cup sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. place tortillas on microwave plate and microwave for 15-25 seconds, until soft. place warm tortillas on counter top and spread 1/3 cup filling down the center of each tortillas. roll each tortillas tightly and place in baking dish, seam side down. pour remaining tomatillo sauce over top of enchiladas. use the back of a spoon to spread sauce so that it coats the top of each tortilla. sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. cover baking dish with foil.
• 6 bake enchiladas on middle rack until heated through and cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes. uncover and sprinkle with scallions and serve immediately. garnish with avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and scallions.