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Tortillas Filled With Chicken And Sour Cream
(Enchiladas de Jocoque)
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| What You Need: |
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2 one-pound chicken breasts
2 cups water
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
¼ cup coarsely chopped celery leaves
1 small bay leaf, crumbled
4 fresh parsley sprigs
4 whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups sour cream
1 tablespoon butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small bits
¼ cup finely chopped onions
A 4-ounce can green chilies (not the jalapeno variety), drained and finely chopped
8 corn tortillas
Eight 4-by-2-by-1/8-inch slices Monterey Jack or Munster cheese
8 pitted black olives, cut lengthwise into halves
Eight 2-by-¼-inch strips canned pimiento
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Combine the chicken breasts and water in a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam and scum as they rise to the surface. Add the coarsely chopped onion and the celery, bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns and salt, then reduce the heat to low.
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2. Simmer partially covered for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the breasts have turned opaque and feel firm when prodded with a finger. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken breasts to a plate.
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3. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve, pressing down hard on the seasonings with the back of a spoon to extract all their juices before discarding the pulp. Return the strained liquid to the pan and boil briskly, uncovered, until the stock is reduced to 1 cup. Taste for seasoning, pour the stock into a bowl, then mix in the sour cream and set aside.
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4. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin with a small knife or your fingers. Cut or pull the meat away from the bones. Discard the skin and bones and cut the meat into ½-inch cubes.
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5. Preheat the oven to 375°F. With a pastry brush, spread the tablespoon of softened butter evenly over the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-by-2-inchbaking dish and set the dish aside.
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6. In a heavy 6- to 8-inch skillet, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter bits over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add the finely chopped onions and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft and translucent but not brown.
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7. Stir in the green chilies and, with a rubber spatula, transfer the entire contents of the skillet to a bowl. Add the cubed chicken and 1 cup of the reserved sour-cream-and-stock mixture and toss the ingredients together gently but thoroughly. Set the filling aside.
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8. Soften the tortillas one at a time in an ungreased 10-inch skillet set over moderate heat. Turn each tortilla over and back with tongs for about 30 seconds, until it is soft but not browned.
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9. To assemble each enchilada, lay a softened tortilla flat and spread about 1/3 cup of the chicken-and-sour-cream filling in a band on the lower third of the tortilla as shown below. Following the diagrams, fold up the bottom edge and roll the enchilada into a tight cylinder.
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10. Place the enchiladas side by side in two rows in the buttered dish and ladle the remaining sour-cream-and-stock mixture over them. Set a slice of cheese on each enchilada and arrange the black olive halves and pimiento strips decoratively over the top.
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11. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the sauce bubbly. Serve the enchiladas de Jocoque at once, directly from the baking dish.
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HOW TO FILL AND ROLL AN ENCHILADA DE JOCOQUE:
For each enchilada de Jocoque, lay a softened tortilla
flat and spread 1/3 cup of filling over the lower third of the
tortilla in a band about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. Fold the
bottom edge of the tortilla up and over the filling to cover it almost
completely. Then, starting at the filled edge, roll the tortilla into
a tight cylinder. It is neither traditional nor necessary to tuck in
the ends of the enchilada.
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