Chicken & Cheese Baked Enchiladas

At our third session in the Love Food kitchen, it was Mexican night!

Chicken and cheese baked enchiladas are a definite winter warmer and are on my top ten list of comfort foods. 

This enchilada has chicken and peppers as a filling with a home-made tomato sauce and lots of cheese to bind the whole thing together. 

A little time is taken over the preparation but the end results is a warm, cheesy, unctuous chicken dish that hits all the right spot.

All smiles at our Mexican night.

Ingredients

Preparation: 1 hours

Cooking: 30-45 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

800g chicken breast or chicken goujons

4 cups bell peppers cut into thin slices
3 cups grated cheese

12 tortillas

4 cups enchilada sauce

6 tsp enchilada spice

• Pre-heat the oven to at 180°C/160°C fan oven/gas mark 4.
• Slice the chicken into thin strips if using whole breasts.
• Heat the pan till it is hot and add a splash of oil, throw in the chicken and stir-fry over a medium heat for 2 minutes, add the peppers and cook until chicken is browned and thoroughly cooked.
• Mix the enchilada spices with tomato sauce and add 1 cup hot water.
• Pour half of the mixture over the chicken and peppers then add half the grated cheese and stir till everything is combined.
• Put the tortillas in the oven to warm up for a few minutes.
• Spoon the chicken filling onto the middle of each tortilla, wrap them up and place them fold down onto a lightly greased baking dish.
• Pour over the remaining sauce and sprinkle over the rest of the grated cheese.
• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbling.

Notes:

• For a vegetable enchilada just use a mix of sliced mushrooms, courgettes and aubergines and butter beans.

Beef (meatier taste), Turkey (lighter) or Pork can be used instead of chicken. They can be cooked in strips or minced.

Enchilada Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion finely diced
• 2 tbsp ginger & garlic paste
• 4 tsp chilli powder
• 4 tsp cumin powder
• 5 cups tomato sauce
• 3 cups vegetable stock or water
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Cook the onions in hot oil till they turn brown.
Add garlic & ginger paste, chilli powder, cumin powder and cook for 2 minutes.
Add tomato sauce and water to the mix, bring to the boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Season to taste. It can be kept in the fridge for1 week or frozen for 3 months.

Enchilada Spice Mix

Ingredients

• 4 tsp chilli powder
• 5 tsp paprika
• 4 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp thyme

Mix all the ingredients together by shaking in a bottle.

Chicken Kebabs in red curry sauce

By the second week of the cookery class at the Love Food kitchen in Barnard Castle, I was much more at ease and confident. 

Once again, it was a busy couple of hours and among the highlights were our chicken kebabs.

The feast we cooked up at the second cookery class

Preparation: 15-20 minutes

Cooking: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 6 people

Ingredients

Kebab

6-8 pieces chicken thighs

Salt & pepper to taste

Paprika

½ cup chopped coriander

½ teaspoon vegetable oil

1 slice brown bread

2 tablespoon vegetable oil for frying.

Red Curry Sauce

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon curry leaves

2 tablespoons ginger/garlic paste

1 ½ tsp turmeric

½ teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon tamarind sauce

4-6 green chillies thinly sliced

Large bunch of coriander chopped

Method

• First put all the ingredients for the kebab in a blender till everything is minced.
• Put in a bowl and refrigerate.
• For the curry sauce fry curry leaves in vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat.
• Stir for a few minutes, then add the ginger and garlic paste cooking till the mixture starts browning – another couple of minutes.
• Now add coriander, cumin and tomato paste. Mix well and add a splash of water if the mix is too dry.
• This will take the powdery taste away. Now add yoghurt and mix in well.
• Bring to the boil then let the mix simmer on low heat adding the chillis, tamarind sauce and finally have of the chopped coriander.
• While the sauce is simmering (about 5-8 mins) take the kebab mix out of the fridge and shape into mini football shapes.
• Add 2 tablespoon vegetable oil in a frying pan and gently brown the kebabs on all sides. Put on a baking tray and in the oven at 200* for 10 minutes till the kebabs are cooked.

To serve, put the kebabs on a shallow serving dish, pour the sauce over them and garnish with the rest of chopped coriander.