I'm not sure why I've taken so long to make this and write about it since Mexican and Tex-Mex food is no doubt my favorite type of ethnic food. I was first introduced to New Mexico Flat Enchiladas (or Sonoran style enchiladas) about thirty years ago while I was doing some family history research. Through the internet I came across some information I'd been looking for on a particular ancestor (Bildad Adams actually) and during the course of our conversation the woman I was chatting with mentioned something about her favorite recipe for flat enchiladas. She sent me here recipe and a bag of Chimayo red chili powder and the rest is history!
This recipe does use some canned ingredients (red chili sauce and tomato sauce) so I can't claim this as being made from scratch but I think its close enough to be worth sharing with you here. The ingredients list I'll share makes enough sauce to for six servings -- you may notice in the following photos that it seems like I used larger quantities -- I did. We were having a large family dinner so I actually octupled the quantities (is that the right word? I multiplied everything by eight when I made it this time) so that I'd have some leftover sauce. I had a little leftover but not as much as I'd hoped because everyone loved it so much!
A hint for you: Consider making extra sauce and then tucking some away in the freezer The sauce is the real key for this recipe and it simmers for a while to let the flavor grow so having some in the freezer is nice when you want to have a quick dinner later on.
The ingredients are actually pretty basic (again these are quantities to make enough for 6 servings):
- 1 lb of ground beef
- Flour
- 6 oz can of tomato sauce
- 10 oz. can of red chili or enchilada sauce
- 2 Tbs of Chimayo red chili powder (other red chili powder works if you can't find this specific kind but the spice leve will be a bit different)
- 12-18 corn tortillas
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 pint sour cream
- 2-3 tomatoes, choped
- 6 eggs, fried
- 3 cups shredded lettuce
Got everything? The preparation is actually really simple (shhhhhh, don't tell anyone. They'll all think we worked really hard to make something this good). Start off by browning the ground beef in a heavy pan. As the meat begins to brown, sprinkle in some flour. I like to add a couple of tablespoons of flour because I like a thicker sauce so its up to you. I suggest at least 2-3 tablespoon of flour but, obviously, the more flour you use the thicker the sauce will be. You'll need to keep stirring once the flour is added because it likes to stick until the liquids are added (if you let it build up a burnt layer on the bottom of the pan you'll get black chunks of yuckiness in your sauce so keep stirring!!).
I cheat a little and also add the chopped onions to the meat when it is just beginning to brown. We personally like to have the onions cooked in the sauce but to be completely traditional the onions would be left raw and sprinkled on top of the enchiladas. Once the meat is browned you can add in the red chili sauce and the tomato sauce. The original recipe calls for adding 1 1/4 cup of water at this point but I usually skip it so that I can add it as needed to control the thickness of the sauce as it finishes cooking.
After the liquids are mixed in it is time to add some spice (and flavor) to your life! In goes the chili powder. This is another ingredient that you can increase or reduced depending on how much heat you desire. If it was up to me I'd add another tablespoon or two of the chili powder. If it was up to my wife, I'd leave the spice container closed and just wave it over the pot (yeah, she thinks ketchup is spicy). Once the chili powder is added, and thoroughly mixed in, all that's left is to let the sauce simmer for awhile to thicken up and to let the flavors wake up. You need to let it simmer slowly for at least 30 minutes but I like to let it go for an hour or two.
When the sauce is ready, the corn torillas are fried in some hot oil just long enough to soften them up and bring out their flavor. For an adult, 4-6 layers of tortillas and sauce are usually used. Assemble the enchiladas as follows -- on a plate place the enchilada, a thin layer of sauce and repeat (pretty complicated, eh?). Once you have the final layer done, add enough sauce to that last layer to cover the sides of the entire stack.
On top of the flat enchilada, sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese and top the masterpiece off with a fried egg. Shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes are added to the side. I also like to add some sour cream, guacamole (which I like to add to just about anything!), and some homemade refried beans. This is a dish that is beautiful to look at and even better to eat. Try it once and I bet you'll be making it again. Ole'! I hope you enjoy this as much as our family does.
Bon appetit! (or should I say, mucho gusto!)
These are NOT Sonoran. Arizona is the home of Sonoran-style Mexican-American, and as a rule, does NOT have flat enchiladas. New Mexico borders almost exclusively on Chihuahua, not Sonora (although it does border Sonora just a tiny bit in its SW corner).