Pulled Pork / Hatch Chile Enchiladas

American Cross-Cultural Cuisine

This easy to make and yet very satisfying dish combines arguably the some of the best food contributions from North Carolina and New Mexico, and in very little time, makes a creamy and delicious meal.


Ingredients:
1 lb pulled pork, already smoked and shredded
6 each Hatch chiles, roasted, seeded and peeled (can substitute 2 each 4 oz. cans)
12 corn tortillas
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced fine (can substitute 1/2 tsp granulated garlic)
1 pint green enchilada sauce (recipe follows) (can substitute 1 can sauce)
12 oz. shredded queso quesadilla cheese (can substitute mozzarella)
4 oz roasted red pepper, peeled, chopped and seeded


Method:

First, here's a look at some raw materials. Below is one fresh-off-the-smoker pork butt:


One pound of pulled pork and the diced up peppers, all getting acquainted in the pan. Here's where the ground pepper and garlic are added.


This paragraph below is good info:

Tortillas - a new process. Corn tortillas are notoriously fragile when new. Try and fold them too much and they crack and crumble. The common solution is to pass them through either hot oil or simmering sauce to make them pliable without tearing. There's a better, faster, easier and calorie-free way to do this. Take the corn tortillas and put them in a tortilla warmer, and run them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Turn them over and run again for another 30 seconds. This in effect 'steams' them, making them easily rolled without tearing. Don't have a tortilla warmer? Take a clean dish towel, wet it and then wring it out well. Wrap your tortillas loosely in this instead, and follow the above directions.

Preheat your oven to 350°. Next, pour a bit of your enchilada sauce in to the bottom of your baking dish and tilt to cover the entire bottom.

Divide your filling into 12 equal little bundles in your pan. One at a time, distribute a bundle evenly across one of the steamed tortillas as shown below. Now roll it up away from you just snugly enough to keep it all together.

Here's what they look like in the pan after all 12 have been rolled:


Top with the rest of your enchilada sauce and a good layer of the shredded cheese:

Twenty minutes later, the oven has worked it's magic and the the taste buds are working overtime:

Here you see a serving of 3 enchiladas, plated up and accented with some chopped roasted red peppers. This dish has a little tang to it but is certainly not loaded with heat. this has been given the Kathy seal of approval to be added to the "make it again" list.




Salsa Verde for Enchiladas

Ingredients:
1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, coarsely chopped
4 Hatch peppers - roasted, peeled and seeded (can substitute Poblano)
1/2 cup cilantro, without stems
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon lime juice
chicken broth
Salt


Method:
Add the first 5 ingredients together in a blender and pulse together.

Add chicken stock (if necessary) a little at a time just so it will blend. Once smooth, remove to a sauce pan and heat to a low boil.

Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes or so, check consistency, and adding chicken stock as needed to thin. Add salt to taste.

Right before serving, stir in lime juce to incorporate.

Depending on chicken stock used, makes about 4 cups.