Chicken Enchiladas
The recipe of the day is an easy make ahead dinner! It’s such a great feeling when you know that you have something ready to go when the end of the day gets closer. Everything feels a little simpler, calmer and more relaxed. That being said, there is the need to put aside some time on a quieter day, maybe over the weekend, to get it done, but in my experience it is always well worth it. The other great thing here is that this recipe feels like it tastes better when you make it in advance and then reheat it (like a queen!) in your Combi-Steam oven (of course!). Something like this will last happily in your fridge, covered and kept cold, for at least 3 days so you can definitely whip it up on the weekend and eat it on Tuesday or Wednesday. Re-heating in your Combi-Steam is one of the best ways to make the most of your appliance because the combination of steam and convection heat gives you that “just cooked” taste and texture, while also ensuring that everything gets heated through evenly because the steam can penetrate right into all parts of the food. This is a much “safer” way to reheat food, while also making sure it’s always hot and tasty, avoiding the dryness and the cold and hot spots that can come from microwave heating.
This is is two step recipe, so you can absolutely make the filling and then keep that in the fridge (end of Step 4) to make the enchiladas later on, when you want to bake them to serve. Or you can make the enchiladas and then put them into the fridge when they are all ‘assembled’ (end of Step 6) and then add the cheese and use your combination steam function to do the last cooking step to serve. The options are really up to you and what feels good in your life at the time you are doing the cooking. The filling itself is also fabulous in tacos or on top of some corn chips to make nachos, or even just on top of some steamed rice in a bowl (find the best way to do that in your Combi-Steam, along with other everyday basics, here) and served with some corn chips, salsa and sour cream. It’s inspiration a’plenty here and you are absolutely welcome. It’s my royal pleasure in fact!
Ole! Let’s go.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
4 skinless and boneless chicken thigh pieces
400g can diced/crushed tomatoes
400g can black beans or red kidney beans (drained)
1/4 bunch of fresh coriander (stalks finely sliced, leaves picked & roughly chopped separately)
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1 small green capsicum/pepper (stalk and seeds discarded, diced around 1cm pieces)
1 small brown onion (diced around 1cm pieces)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbs dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt flakes (or to taste)
3/4 cup water
8 medium sized tortillas of your choice
3/4 cup grated tasty cheese
salt & black pepper to season
optional to serve - avocado or guacamole, jar salsa, sour cream, limes,
Method:
Combine the tomatoes with the water in a bowl or jug. Add the cumin, paprika, sugar, oregano and salt and give it a little mix.
Place the chicken thighs (whole) into a shallow oven proof dish. Season them by sprinkling over some extra salt and some black pepper. Add the beans, coriander stalks, corn, capsicum and onions. Add 3/4 of the tomato mixture to the dish with the chicken. Mix a little to combine it all together then spread it out again so the chicken is in a single layer.
Place the dish into your Combi-Steam oven. (No need to preheat) Select Hot Air with Steaming (Combination Steam function). Set the temperature to 160°C. (For variable steam settings select 40% or medium) Cook for 45-50 minutes or until the chicken is nice and tender and can easily be pulled apart/shredded with two forks.
Remove the dish from the oven. Shred the chicken and mix all the meat through the sauce.
In a clean shallow oven proof dish spread out the remainder of the flavoured tomato sauce.
Lay one tortilla onto a flat surface and add a few spoonfulls of the chicken filling horizontally across the tortilla about 1/3 up from the bottom. From the bottom of the tortilla fold it over the filling and roll it up to enclose, leaving the ends open. Carefully lay it into the dish on top of the tomato sauce. Repeat with remaining filling.*
Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the enchiladas.
To cook ready for serving, place the dish in to the Combi-Steam oven. (No need to preheat) Select Hot Air with Steaming (Combination Steam function). Set the temperature to 180°C. (For variable steam settings select 20% or low) Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the ends of the tortillas are just a little crisp and browned.
Serve as you like with diced avocado, salsa, guacamole, limes and of course the fresh chopped coriander leaves.
Tips:
*At the end of Step 6, if you have some of the chicken filling left you can spread that over the top of the enchiladas before adding the cheese if you like. You can also place it into a ziplock bag, press it flat to remove as much air as possible, label it and freeze for up to 3 months. It is great reheated and put on top of some corn chips with cheese and other Mexican toppings as a nachos, on top of a baked jacket potato or with some rice and Mexican style salad toppings in a bowl.
*As mentioned, if you have a specific reheating function in your Combi-Steam oven (like RegeneratOmatic or Regenerate) you can use that to reheat the whole dish or any leftovers to perfection according to the user instructions.
*You can easily make a vegetarian version of this one. Just add another can of beans or do two kinds (one can red kidney and one can black beans. You could add some pre roasted red capsicum roughly chopped or some diced zucchini. You could even add some chunky diced butternut squash or sweet potato.
This Queen thinks this one might become a high rotation dish in your palace. Love to hear how it goes!
Until next time happy CombiSteaming!
Yours in the kitchen,
The CSQ. x
As a little post script, I know that it has been way too long between recipes. Apologies to you all, my loyal (and new) subjects. I will try to do better and keep the inspiration coming!