ancholadas

The Tex-Mex or California enchilada is rolled, whereas the New Mexico enchilada is stacked. In Elida, NM in the 1950s, where I grew up, it was just called a flat enchilada, and always had a fried egg on top. Now, when made with blue corn tortillas, it is sometimes called a Santa Fe style enchilada.

It is made with either red or green chile sauce and the fried egg on top is a New Mexico tradition. The ingredients are layered into a casserole dish and served in a manner reminiscent of lasagna.*

I make mine using lower carb/calorie/salt ingredients, which does not appreciably alter the quality of the dish. The amount of heat can be increased, if you wish, by using a hotter enchilada or molé sauce, or by adding a little ground cayenne chile.

  • 3 large ancho chiles, roasted, seeds removed, and chopped
  • 1 lb lean ground turkey
  • 1 medium onion, chopped fine
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • <salt> and pepper, to taste
  • olive oil spray
  • 5 lower G. I. flour tortillas, fajita size
  • 1 (10-oz) can green enchilada sauce
  • ½ lb 2% fat cheddar cheese, grated
  • ½ lb 2% fat Monterey jack cheese, grated
  • 10 oz green molé sauce
  • 5 eggs

Roast the chiles in an oven broiler until blackened on all sides. Remove from oven, dowse in cold water, and remove the blackened skin. Remove seeds and chop.

Brown meat with onions, and garlic. Add <salt> and pepper, to taste. Combine the ancho chile and meat mixture.

Fold the green chile sauce into to the meat, onion, garlic, and ancho mixture.

Lightly coat both sides of the tortillas with olive oil spray. Lightly brown them on both sides until crispy. When cool, cut each in half.

In a greased 2 quart casserole, layer tortilla pieces, meat mixture, and cheeses, until dish is about 1” from top. ingredients can be altered for larger or smaller dish.

Top the casserole with half the molé sauce and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until cheese is bubbly and the water in sauces has mostly evaporated.

Separate casserole into 5 portions, top each with a yolk-up fried egg, and spoon over the remaining molé sauce.