QUESO ANEJO ENCHILADAS WITH RED CHILE SAUCE

QUESO ANEJO ENCHILADAS WITH RED CHILE SAUCE image

Yield Yields 4-6 Cups

Number Of Ingredients 21

Ingredients

For Enchiladas:
20-30 six inch corn tortillas
24 ounces queso anejo enchilado or queso fresco
8 ounces monterey jack
4-6 cups red chile sauce (recipe to follow)
Peanut or vegetable oil
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 bunch cilantro
For Sauce:
3 [dried] ancho or mulato chiles*
3 [dried] pasilla chiles*
3 [dried] guajillo or 4 [dried] cascabel chiles*
3 [dried] New Mexico chiles*
6 cloves garlic (pan roasted)
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Water (to rehydrate chiles)
The dried chiles are available at most Latin markets, and some grocery stores are begining to stock them as well. If you can't find all of these varieties, just substitute any combination of the ones available.

Steps:

For the enchiladas: Shred a little more than 2/3 of the queso anejo into a bowl, this will be the filling. Shred the remaining queso anejo along with the monterey jack into a second bowl for the topping. Heat a non-stick frying pan with 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Once the pan has heated, take one tortilla & dip into the sauce until covered. Remove tortilla and allow any excess to drip off. Place tortilla into frying pan for about 30 seconds, then flip with a spatula. Put a small amount of cheese filling on one half of tortilla. After 30 seconds fold the cheeseless half over the half with cheese and place into a large caserole dish. Repeat, adding oil to pan as necessary, while allowing each finished tortilla to slightly overlap in dish. Once one "layer" is finished, cover with one half of cheese topping. Complete second layer, and sprinkle with remaining cheese topping. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes until cheese has just melted. Garnish with cilantro. Slice & serve. Feeds 6 hungry people For red chile sauce: Remove stems and seeds from chiles and cut into strips. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat & add chiles. Cover for 30 minutes. Working in 3-4 batches, combine the chiles and other ingredients into a blender or food processor. Taste the water the chiles soaked in and if bitter discard. If not bitter add about 1/2-2/3 cup to blender to keep the mixture going (If water is bitter, just add fresh). Push sauce through mesh strainer into a bowl. Some people skip this step, but I find that the chile skins are bitter and tough. Discard solids remaining in strainer. Use within 24 hours.