New Mexico-Style Stacked Enchiladas

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New Mexico-Style Stacked Enchiladas

 

1 medium clove garlic, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup ground dried red chile

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Vegetable oil (for cooking tortillas)

12 corn tortillas

1 cup grated medium Cheddar or

longhorn cheese, packed

1 (4 1/2 ounce) can black olives, diced

1 small yellow onion, finely diced

 

Sauté garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over low heat until light

gold, about 4 minutes. Stir in the red chile, and then quickly add the

water and salt so that the chile does not burn. Raise the heat to

medium-low and simmer the red chile sauce, stirring occasionally,

until it has the consistency of a gravy, about 5 minutes.

 

Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in another large skillet over medium heat

until a piece of tortilla sizzles upon contact. Slip a corn tortilla

into the oil and cook it for about 10 seconds so that it becomes

pliable but not brown and crisp. Remove the tortilla with tongs to

paper towels to drain. Repeat this process until all the tortillas are

cooked.

 

Dip a tortilla in the red chile sauce and place it on a large,

greased, shallow baking dish. (As the sauce cools, it tends to

thicken. If it becomes too thick to drip off the tortilla, thin it

with a few tablespoons water). Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the

cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons olives and 1 teaspoon diced onion on the

tortilla. Dip another tortilla in the sauce and place it atop the

first tortilla. Sprinkle the same amount of cheese, olives and onion

on the second tortilla and top it with one more dipped tortilla.

Repeat the process until you have made 4 stacks of 3 tortillas each.

 

Spoon remaining red chile sauce over the enchiladas, then sprinkle the

remaining cheese on top. Bake the enchiladas in a preheated 350

degrees F oven until the cheese inside melts, about 10 minutes.

 

Serve at once with refried beans and Spanish rice or posole (hominy stew).