Mexico's home-cooking staple: corn tortillas in dried-chilli sauce, filled, baked and buried in crema and cheese. The sauce from dried chillies is everything. Tinned tomato is not a substitute.
About Enchiladas
Mexico City's quintessential home cooking: corn tortillas dipped in chilli sauce (salsa roja or verde), quickly fried and filled with chicken, cheese or potato, rolled and arranged in a dish, drenched in more sauce and topped with crema, crumbled cheese, onion and coriander; the sauce must be made from rehydrated dried chillies; a tinned-sauce version is an affront.
The Sauce
Enchiladas are a cornerstone of Mexican home cooking: corn tortillas dipped in a chilli sauce, lightly fried, filled, rolled and baked, then drenched in more sauce and finished with crema, crumbled cheese, onion and coriander. The sauce, not the filling, is the soul of the dish. Everything depends on getting it right.
The Chilli Sauce
A real enchilada sauce is made from rehydrated dried chillies, guajillo and ancho for a red salsa roja, or tomatillo and serrano for a green salsa verde. Tinned tomato sauce is not enchilada sauce, and the difference is the whole difference between success and failure. Toasting and soaking the dried chillies is what builds the deep, layered flavour.
Rojo and Verde
The two great families are red and green. Salsa roja, built on dried red chillies, is deep, earthy and faintly sweet; salsa verde, built on tart tomatillos and fresh chillies, is bright and sharp. Both coat the soft tortillas completely, and the choice sets the whole character of the plate.
Everyday Cooking
Enchiladas reveal Mexican daily cooking at its most accessible, simple in technique yet wholly dependent on the quality of the sauce. They are made with corn tortillas, which hold up to the sauce where flour would fall apart, and topped with crumbled rather than melted cheese. Eaten soft and sauce-soaked, they are comfort food at its most Mexican.
What to Expect
The enchiladas arrive in a baking dish, the red or green sauce covering everything. Cold crema is added on top. A first bite reveals the tortilla inside is soft and sauce-soaked. The cheese is crumbled, not melted.
Why Try It
Enchiladas reveal the most about Mexican daily cooking, as the technique is accessible, and the results are completely dependent on the quality of the chilli sauce.
Insider Tips
- Use guajillo chillies for red (rojo) and tomatillo for green (verde), the dried chilli sauce is the entire dish.
- The tortillas should be corn, not flour, corn holds up to the sauce better.
- El Cardenal in Mexico City and any family restaurant in Oaxaca serve reliable versions.
