Israeli couscous with chicken piccata would be delicious if you enjoy chicken piccata. The briny capers add to the dish’s bright, fresh lemon flavor, and it’s surprisingly simple to create.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 1 |
| Yield: | 1 3-layer enchilada |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- ½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or more as needed
- 2 tablespoons ground ancho chile powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon (Optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 3 (5 inch) corn tortillas
- ½ teaspoon vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup shredded cooked chicken
- ⅔ cup pepper Jack cheese
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- ⅓ cup chopped green onions
Instructions
- Melt butter with olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and salt; cook and stir until onion starts to turn golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in flour, chile powder, cumin, chipotle powder, black pepper, oregano, cayenne, and cinnamon. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and mix until fully combined. Pour in chicken broth and whisk until smooth.
- Increase heat to high and bring sauce to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors come together, about 10 minutes. Taste and season as desired. Blend sauce with an immersion blender.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Lightly brush tortillas with oil. Heat a small cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Heat tortillas until flexible, about 30 seconds per side.
- Cover the bottom of the skillet with a scoop of enchilada sauce. Place a tortilla on top and add 1/2 of the chicken, 1/3 of the Jack cheese, and 1/2 the cilantro and green onions. Spoon on more sauce and repeat layers, finishing with sauce and the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until cheese melts and sauce is bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.
- This recipe makes an individual skillet enchilada but enough sauce for 4 to 6 portions. Nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of sauce.
- I recommend using the freshest possible chile powder you can find.
- If you’re making the sauce ahead of time, it’s a good idea to heat it up first before assembling your enchiladas, so they are warm going in the oven. Otherwise, you’ll need to give them some extra time in the oven to heat through.
- Shredded stewed beef is also delicious in these, as is regular Monterey Jack cheese.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 1377 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 80 g |
| Cholesterol | 241 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Protein | 59 g |
| Saturated Fat | 37 g |
| Sodium | 5142 mg |
| Sugars | 12 g |
| Fat | 93 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
The star of this recipe is definitely the enchilada sauce. It is much better than the store-bought options. I used pork and made the corn tortillas to fit my tiny skillets. I topped with avocado crema and guacamole. The end result was a delicious and perfectly portioned dinner. The husband was thrilled and requested another skillet so maybe not the perfect portion but will definitely be on the menu for dinner again soon. Thanks Chef John!
Looks delicious
Another hit from Chef John, though I thought the way the recipe was written was a little confusing because I didn’t realize the sauce was supposed to be enough for a whole pan of enchiladas, so I actually doubled the sauce. No matter though, I just used it up later in the week. I did not use any cilantro and used Mexican shredded four cheese. Also, I used regular chile powder because I didn’t have ancho chile powder. The sauce was really good- and it was pretty spicy! I made two enchiladas at a time in a square pan. Served with sour cream. My fiance absolutely loved this and couldn’t stop talking about how good it was.
I made this recipe exactly as listed and it was excellent! The presentation is fun too. There were 3 of us, and I had sides of rice and beans.
The sauce was easy to make and it was delicious. For the enchiladas I didn’t have tortillas and I didn’t feel like making them. So I used tortilla chips instead making layers. My daughter doesn’t like spicy so I made hers with less sauce and she said it wasn’t too spicy for her. I like spicy and made mine with more sauce and the spice was just right. This is very versatile.
This was terrific. I just happened to have leftover pulled pork that I used as the filling. Two weeks later and my husband is still talking about this dish. That is shocking.
for the sauce only: i used half the cominos and no chipotle powder or cinnamon. i used double the tomato paste and used 6 dried and deseeded guajillo chiles that i soaked and pured in a blender. i doubled up on the recipe and froze the leftovers. most excellent.
Have made this 3 times now, each with minor changes, but mostly staying true to the recipe. Some things to note: Ingredients call for garlic, but instructions never add it. I just toss it in with the onions… If your chicken broth is already salted, you don’t need to add the salt, or should cut back the salt a lot. Works great with a store bought roast chicken. Extras like olives, fresh serrano chili, and cotija cheese are awesome. Also love to serve with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, etc on the side to help calm the spice. As others have mentioned, sour cream and guac are also wonderful additions. We’ve dubbed it enchilada lasagna since I put it all in one pan… it’s wrong but it feels right
I made this pretty much as Chef John outlined in his video. I used 3 small cast iron pans (i have one tiny one and two small ones). I didn’t make any changes to speak of – short of using chili powder that just said “chili powder” and not a particular chili. I used too much flour so I added more broth and more chili powder. It was really good. My family enjoyed it as well. Per usual, Chef John comes through with a fabulous, easy and yummy recipe. I will make this again!!
This was excellent! The sauce always burns my throat but with a little lime it was perfect. I recommend this whole heartedly. Like chef John said, Way better than the restaurant
The homemade enchilada sauce really is a lot better! I don’t know why Chef John (my favorite) calls this easy! It was easier than rolling the tortillas like I have done in the past, yet still time consuming to make the sauce.
My review is only for the enchilada sauce and not the enchiladas themselves: I recently started making cheese enchiladas on our usual taco night to have a kind of combo plate. I had been using canned sauce for ease but made this recipe tonight (I actually started it yesterday) and wow, I was blown away with the difference it made. I had been really enjoying my enchiladas before but wasn’t expecting just how much better they were going to be with Chef John’s sauce. The only change I made (the part that I started yesterday) was buying dried ancho chilis and making a paste from them yesterday to use in the sauce today. While making the sauce I thought it was a bit on the heavy side, flavor-wise but, after putting it with the enchiladas, it was the perfect level of spice It is totally worth the effort to make the sauce yourself and I will not be buying canned again except in the most dire of enchilada emergencies.
Turned out great! I layered the tortillas in an 8 x 8 pan, added some fresh salsa & black beans along with the chicken and cheese. Next time I’ll double the sauce because it was a little on the dry side and maybe switch to flour tortillas. (?) Sauce was excellent btw. Otherwise another win for chef John!
So easy good and I’m no cook! Thanks Chef JOHN!
This is a keeper. It was very good!
Fair Warning — I only made the sauce and used it on cheese enchiladas. I am only rating the sauce. As written, the enchilada sauce is very, very tasty. It did seem to lack something, so I added about a tablespoon of regular chile powder. Surprisingly, that upped the heat factor which is great for me but not my daughter. Without the additional chile powder the heat is very mild using just a pinch of cayenne. I also used Mexican oregano just for personal preference. A tip for preparation — there are a lot of seasonings to be added for the roux and it is hard to be quick about it. Next time I will measure out all the seasonings and flour before starting the sauce and add them all at one time. I added the minced garlic with the tomato paste. A wonderful recipe as written or with seasonings adjusted to your taste. It’s a keeper and will replace canned enchilada sauce in our home.
Amazingly flavorful
Awesome
Our family crushed these like we hadn’t eaten in days.
No changes. Will definitely KEEP making it. YUM!
My wife and I made this and it turned out very good. I loved the sauce but a little spicey for my wife. Had fun throwing it together!