Stacked Chicken Enchiladas
Photo: Leo Gong
Yields Makes 2 enchiladas (each 3 to 4 servings) Total Time 1 hr
Though the sauce for this impressive layered enchilada dish tastes complex, it's made with canned chile sauce doctored up with sweet spices, raisins, pine nuts, and smoky chipotle chiles. For a hotter sauce, add more chipotles and adobo sauce to the chicken mixture.

How to Make It

Step 1
1

Preheat oven to 375°. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook onion with olive oil, stirring often until softened, about 5 minutes.

Step 2
2

Stir in 3/4 cup red chile sauce, the pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, and vinegar. Add chicken, then bring mixture to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat. Pour remaining red chile sauce into a pie pan.

Step 3
3

To make enchilada stacks, dip 1 tortilla in chile sauce in pie pan to coat. Place on an ovenproof dinner plate. Repeat with another tortilla on a second plate. Spread each tortilla evenly with a heaping 1/3 cup chicken mixture, then with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering with 8 more tortillas, dipping them in sauce, then adding chicken mixture and cheese to make 2 stacks of 5 layers. (You'll use all the chicken but not all the cheese.) Dip the last 2 tortillas in sauce, place each, curved side down, on stack, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Step 4
4

Bake enchiladas until hot in the center and cheese bubbles on top, 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 5
5

Meanwhile, pour remaining chile sauce from the pie pan into a microwave-safe pitcher and cook in a microwave oven on full power until simmering, 1 to 2 minutes. To make the salad, stir together radishes, lime juice, and extra-virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Just before serving, stir in cabbage and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 6
6

Top each enchilada with a small mound of salad and cut in thirds or quarters to serve. Offer with remaining salad and chile sauce to add to taste.

Step 7
7

Note: Nutritional analysis is per 1/4-stack serving.

Ingredients

 1 cup chopped onion
 1 tablespoon olive oil
 1 can (28 oz.) red chile sauce, divided
 1/2 cup pine nuts
 1/4 cup golden raisins
 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
 1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, plus 2 tsp. sauce (see Notes)
 1 tablespoon tomato paste
 1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar
 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
 3 3/4 cups shredded white and/or dark chicken meat (from one 2 1/2- to 3-lb. rotisserie chicken)
 12 corn tortillas (6 in. wide; see Notes)
 3 cups coarsely shredded jack cheese
 2 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
 5 to 6 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage (see Notes)
 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Step 1
1

Preheat oven to 375°. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook onion with olive oil, stirring often until softened, about 5 minutes.

Step 2
2

Stir in 3/4 cup red chile sauce, the pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon, allspice, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, and vinegar. Add chicken, then bring mixture to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat. Pour remaining red chile sauce into a pie pan.

Step 3
3

To make enchilada stacks, dip 1 tortilla in chile sauce in pie pan to coat. Place on an ovenproof dinner plate. Repeat with another tortilla on a second plate. Spread each tortilla evenly with a heaping 1/3 cup chicken mixture, then with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering with 8 more tortillas, dipping them in sauce, then adding chicken mixture and cheese to make 2 stacks of 5 layers. (You'll use all the chicken but not all the cheese.) Dip the last 2 tortillas in sauce, place each, curved side down, on stack, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Step 4
4

Bake enchiladas until hot in the center and cheese bubbles on top, 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 5
5

Meanwhile, pour remaining chile sauce from the pie pan into a microwave-safe pitcher and cook in a microwave oven on full power until simmering, 1 to 2 minutes. To make the salad, stir together radishes, lime juice, and extra-virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Just before serving, stir in cabbage and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 6
6

Top each enchilada with a small mound of salad and cut in thirds or quarters to serve. Offer with remaining salad and chile sauce to add to taste.

Step 7
7

Note: Nutritional analysis is per 1/4-stack serving.

Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

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