For someone who lives in a one-bedroom Manhattan apartment and who abhors clutter, I sure do own a lot of cookbooks. To be fair, I do a lot of research before I buy one, to make sure it’s the right addition to my collection, and though today the collection is mighty, each book has its own merits that make it somehow indispensable to me. I’m not going to choose a favorite child or anything, but of all my books, I think Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen is the one with the most dog-eared pages and sauce-stained recipes. Everything (okay, except maybe one thing) I’ve made from that gospel of Mexican cooking has been outstanding, his instructions are direct and easy to follow and his methods not overly complicated. Basically, he’s achieved the golden recipe trifecta, and these fantastic enchiladas are the perfect case in point.
I don’t want to get bogged down in semantics here, but I’m not sure if these are technically enchiladas? I always thought that in an enchilada the tortillas had to be sauced, then cooked in the sauce, then rolled up with the filling, then baked? But perhaps I’ve been living within a very narrow definition of an enchilada all this time, and that’s my loss because enchiladas this way are pretty delicious. Like a taco, you need the filling, and you need the tortillas, and you need the toppings but you also need this tasty green tomatillo-based sauce which is both tangy and spicy and wakes that heavy filling of fish and potatoes right up.
Fish and potatoes is a combination I see a lot in Italian preparations, but it totally works in this Mexican situation as well. Choose a flaky white fish (Bayless gives lots of options, so choose what’s easiest for you to procure), and boil that up with some diced potatoes in that flavorful broth to make the filling. Easy. Blitz up some tomatillos and onions and garlic and HOT peppers (the sauce as written is pretty spicy, but I think it works once it’s combined with the bright toppings and the earthy fish and potato combination.) Steam up some corn tortillas until they’re perfectly pliable, then roll them up with the filling inside. Ladle a generous portion of sauce across your enchiladas all in a row. Top with julienned radishes, cotija cheese, white onion and cilantro. Voila, one of the most flavorful meals you’ve eaten in a LONG time. Also, did I mention it’s stunning?
What should be music to your collective ears is that not only is this a unique, delicious, BEAUTIFUL dish, it’s also made of ingredients you’re going to be able to find wherever you are (I think tomatillos are available pretty widely these days). If you can’t find cotija cheese (which is an aged Mexican cheese, kind of like Parmesan), don’t sweat it. You can use the substitutions Bayless suggests or skip it altogether (I skipped it because I was too lazy to go to the Mexican grocery on 104th St. on a Friday after work and then found some in my fridge that was perfectly viable two days later because, of course.) Which brings me to what I think is part of what makes Bayless’ recipes so special – in combining a handful of pretty standard ingredients in a new way, he shows you how to create something that tastes so unique, so packed with flavor, so recognizably Mexican. It’s what makes me come back to his book again and again, and I’m sure this won’t be the last time I share the results with you.
Ingredients
- 12 oz. (7 to 8 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- Fresh serrano chiles to taste (about 2), stemmed
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 large white onion, chopped into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fish or chicken broth
- 8 oz. boneless, skinless fish fillets (such as skate, grouper, snapper, sea bass or mahimahi)
- 2 medium-small boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 8 corn tortillas (plus a few extra, in case some break)
- 1/4 cup crema, crème fraîche or sour cream
- A generous 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus 8 springs for garnish
- Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon, depending on the saltiness of the broth
- 3 tablespoons finely crumbled Mexican queso añejo, dry feta or Parmesan
- 4 radishes, finely diced or cut into matchsticks
Instructions
- To make the sauce, lay the tomatillos and chiles on a baking sheet and place about 4 inches below, a very hot broiler. When the tomatillos and chiles blister, darken and soften on one side. about 5 minutes, turn them over and roast on the other side. Transfer tomatillos, chiles and any accumulated juices to a food processor or blender.
- Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a medium-large (9- to 10-inch) heavy skillet over medium. Add half of the onion and cook, stirring often, until richly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add to the chile mixture in the food processor or blender and process to a medium-fine puree.
- Wipe the skillet clean, set it over medium-high and add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil. When hot enough to make a drop of the puree sizzle sharply, pour it all in at once and stir for about 5 minutes, until darker and thicker. Add the broth, let return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer briskly until thick enough to coat a spoon, about 10 minutes.
- To make the filling, place the fish in a small (1- to 2-quart) saucepan, cover with salted water, set over medium meat and simmer until the fish flakes easily, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Transfer the fillets to a plate with a slotted spoon, then scoop the potatoes into the fish's broth and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes; drain off the liquid, leaving the potatoes in the pan. Flake the fish into the saucepan and gently mix with the potatoes and 1/2 cup of the tomatillo sauce; cover and set aside.
- Set up a steamer (a vegetable steamer in a large saucepan filled with 1/2 inch of water works well); heat to a boil. Wrap the tortillas in a heavy kitchen towel, lay in the steamer and cover with a tight lid. Boil 1 minute, turn off the heat and let stand without opening the steamer for 15 minutes.
- Bring the remaining tomatillo sauce to a simmer over low heat, add the creme (or one of its stand-ins) and 1/4 cup of the chopped cilantro. taste, season with salt and keep warm; warm up the fish and potato filling. Mix the remaining half of the onion with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro.
- One serving at a time, finish the enchiladas. Lay 2 warm tortillas on an individual plate, spoon a portion of filling across one side of each tortill, fold over, ladle a portion of sauce and sprinkle with cheese, the onion-cilantro mixture and radishes. Garnish with sprigs of cilantro and serve.
Notes
Adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen
