Chicken Enchiladas in Red Chilli Sauce
Saucy, cheesy and comforting
Enchiladas are pure comfort: tortillas wrapped around tender chicken, blanketed in sauce and cheese, then baked until bubbling. The twist is the sauce. Rather than reaching for a jar, this one starts with whole dried chillies, toasted in a dry pan until fragrant and then blended into a deep, smoky, brick-red sauce. It takes minutes of extra effort and transforms the dish entirely, giving a warmth and complexity that no shortcut can match.
Chicken Enchiladas in Red Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 dried ancho chillies
- 2 dried guajillo chillies
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 300ml chicken stock
- 400g cooked chicken, shredded
- 8 corn or small flour tortillas
- 200g mature Cheddar or red Leicester, grated
- Salt, to taste
- To serve: soured cream, sliced spring onions, fresh coriander
Method
- Tear the stalks and seeds from the dried chillies. Toast the chillies in a dry pan over a medium heat for about 30 seconds each side, until fragrant but not burnt.
- Cover the toasted chillies with boiling water and leave to soak for 15 minutes until softened.
- Meanwhile, soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, cumin and oregano and cook for another minute.
- Drain the chillies and put them in a blender with the onion mixture, the tomatoes and the stock. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the sauce back into the pan and simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt.
- Mix about a third of the sauce through the shredded chicken to moisten it.
- Warm the tortillas briefly to make them pliable. Spoon some chicken into each, roll up, and place seam-side down in an oiled baking dish.
- Pour the remaining sauce evenly over the rolled tortillas and scatter the grated cheese on top.
- Bake at 200C (fan 180C) for 18-20 minutes until bubbling and golden.
- Serve hot, topped with soured cream, spring onions and coriander.
3 The Story
The enchilada is a cornerstone of Mexican cooking, and the idea behind it is ancient: a tortilla, dipped or smothered in a chilli sauce and rolled around a filling. The name comes from the Spanish verb enchilar, meaning to season or coat with chilli, and that chilli sauce is the heart of the dish. The corn tortilla on which it rests is one of the oldest foods of Mesoamerica, a thin flatbread of ground maize that has fed the region for millennia and remains central to its table today.
What sets a real enchilada apart from a casual approximation is that sauce. Across Mexico there are countless versions, from the green tomatillo-based salsa verde to rich, dark moles, but among the most familiar is a red sauce built on dried chillies. The technique used here, toasting dried chillies and then rehydrating them in hot water before blending, is a fundamental Mexican method. It is the foundation of a great many sauces, and it is worth understanding because it unlocks so much flavour from such simple ingredients.
The two chillies in this recipe are workhorses of the Mexican kitchen. The ancho is a dried poblano, broad and wrinkled and a deep mahogany colour, prized for its mild heat and its sweet, raisiny, almost chocolatey depth. The guajillo is a dried mirasol chilli, smoother-skinned and brighter in flavour, bringing a tangy, berry-like note and a vivid red colour to the sauce. Together they give balance: the ancho lends body and sweetness, the guajillo brings brightness and hue. Toasting them briefly in a dry pan awakens their oils and deepens their flavour, while care is needed not to scorch them, as a burnt chilli turns bitter.
Beyond the sauce, the enchilada is endlessly adaptable. Shredded chicken is a classic and convenient filling, especially good for using up the meat from a roast, but beef, cheese, beans or vegetables all work. The finishing touches matter too: a cooling spoonful of soured cream, a scatter of sharp spring onion and fresh coriander cut through the richness and bring the dish to life. Built on a properly made chilli sauce, it is honest, generous, deeply comforting food.
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