Enchiladas Potosinas

Although these little taste treats are called enchiladas, they are really empanadas.  San Luis Potosi, home town of Adriana's husband Juan, is the place were these originated.  A similar food in Queretaro is called enchiladas queretanas.  Like most Mexican food, they come in many variations.

The ingredients for the shells are masa, ancho and guajillo chiles, onion, garlic and salt.

 

 

Adriana sautés the de-steamed and de-seeded chiles briefly to soften them, then they are placed in the blender along with the onion, garlic, salt and a cup of water.

The well blended salsa is added to a pound (500g) of masa.

As she squeezes the salsa into the masa, she adds more water as needed to produce a medium moist dough.

When the dough is ready, she begins the preparation of the filling.

 

First, she grates some cheese, queso añejo, also called queso cotija.  She uses this cheese because it melts easily without becoming stringy.

Three tomatoes, two jalapeño chiles and half an onion will go into the filling.  The chiles and tomatoes are boiled briefly to loosen the skins.

After the skins are removed, they and the onion are puréed in the blender until smooth.  She also adds a hefty sprinkle of Tone's steak seasoning.

 

The purée is poured into a bit of hot olive oil.  When it comes to a boil, some of the grated cheese is added, and the fire is turned off at once.

 

Now it's time to press the dough in a tortilla press

and add the filling.

The patty is folded over and the edges pressed together.

They are toasted on the comal and then set aside to cool.

Adriana made this large plateful last night to supplement the ones she made this morning.

At this stage, they can be held for a couple days covered in the fridge.

They can also be eaten now, but they are better after the next step. (I tried it both ways.  Fried is better.)  If you wish to make them ahead of time, stop at this point.  The fried ones get soggy in the fridge.

Adriana fries them in olive oil until well browned.  They should be served promptly after frying.

 

The toppings include diced pickled pig skin, avocado slices, finely diced onions, heavy or sour cream and more of the grated cheese.

 

The plate also has a side of re-fried beans with a couple of tostada chips.

 

I'm so glad she gave me some to take home for supper.

If you wish to write to Adriana Rosales you may send an e-mail to AdrianaR@rollybrook.com

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