Well, we’ve made it. It’s May and I am no longer hibernating from the cold. (Dallas is colder than Austin and I am a big wuss.) I’ve written about enchiladas before and as everyone may notice, they’re my Tex-Mex weak spot.
Nothing says comfort food to me like a steaming plate of cheese enchiladas with Mexican rice and refried beans. I recently made my first attempt at making cheese enchiladas and they were a great success, thanks to a recipe from the Homesick Texan. They were cheesy and gooey and had the perfect texture combination thanks to a little crunch from the diced onion and shredded lettuce. The key to this recipe is her Chili Gravy. It has the perfect richness, and as gravies go, this recipe is fool-proof. I’ve modified her recipe a bit, and added a little more commentary. Making gravy can be daunting, but patience and extra chicken stock will make everything ok. So without further ado, Cheese Enchiladas with Chili Gravy.
Chili Gravy:
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup flour
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp powdered garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano
2 Tbs chile powder
2 cups chicken broth
Start by heating the oil over medium heat in a skillet with ample surface space to make the roux. A caste iron skillet is preferable, but not necessary. Stir in the flour, a little at a time, and continue to stir for 3 to 4 minutes until it makes a light brown roux. Making a roux can be daunting, but as long as you are patient, and CONTINUE TO STIR, you should be alright. Take liberties with the time and the pace of adding the flour to make sure the roux doesn’t burn or the flour doesn’t fry in the hot oil.
Add all the dry ingredients and continue to cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring and blending ingredients. This is a simple instruction, but very very important. If you don’t stir continuously, the roux will burn and you’ll have to start over. This burning step is the bane of my mother’s cooking existence.
Add chicken broth (or water), mixing and stirring until the sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and let sauce simmer for 15 minutes (the time is less important that the thickness of the gravy, which can be altered with chicken broth or water if it gets to thick). Add water to adjust the thickness. When I reach the chicken broth step, I often have to transfer the roux/gravy to a medium sauce pan. By this point, the surface area of the pan is less important than the height of the side walls of the pan.
Makes 2 cups
Cheese Enchiladas:
8 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
1 cup Velveeta, diced in small cubes
1 medium onion, diced
Shredded lettuce
2 cups chili gravy
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Wrap the tortillas in paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds. This can be done in batches of 4 to achieve a more consistent heating through. Keep the tortillas wrapped in the paper towel until ready to assemble enchiladas.
Pour ½ cup in the baking pan to lightly coat bottom. Take a tortilla, put ¼ cup of cheddar cheese and Velveeta mixture and 1 Tbs of onion in the center and roll it. Place the tortilla in baking dish, seam side down. Continue with remaining tortillas. Take remaining chili gravy and pour over the rolled tortillas. Sprinkle remaining cheese and onions on top. Place a couple small cubes of Velveeta on top as well. Bake for 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.
Makes 8 enchiladas
You can read the original Homesick Texan recipe and blog post here.
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