Chilaquiles

I made these chilaquiles for the family in Utah when we visited over Christmas. The recipe originally comes from Rick Bayless (here). He calls for jars of fire-roasted tomatillo salsa, but I prefer to make the salsa myself. I also use fewer onions than he suggests.

These are very easy to make (especially if you just buy the salsa).

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup sliced white onion
• 2-3 lbs tomatillos
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 24 ounces tortilla chips
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican melting cheese (such as Chihuahua) or Monterey Jack
• 1 lb coarsely shredded cooked chicken
• 3/4 cup Mexican crema (or sour cream thinned with a little milk)
• A handful of cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

Peel the tomatillos and wash them. Place the garlic and tomatillos on a cookie sheet and fire-roast them under a broiler until the tomatillo skins blacken. Puree the tomatillos and garlic in a blender. Warm a little oil in a frying pan and, when hot, add the puree. Reduce the sauce over medium-low heat for about 5-minutes. Add salt to taste.

In a very large (6-quart) Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until richly browned.

Add the salsa and broth and bring to a boil. When the sauce is at a rolling boil, turn off the heat and stir in the chips and shredded cheese. Press the chips down to ensure that nearly all are submerged; a few on the top may still be sticking out.

Strew the chicken over the top, cover and let stand for 3 or 4 minutes. Gently stir everything together, then drizzle with the crema, and sprinkle with cilantro.

Roasted Tomato Cream Sauce

Here's the recipe for the roasted tomato cream sauce I made for the fish tacos that Karen made at Aunt Janeen's house.

Ingredients

• 1 large tomato
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 habanero pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

Cut open the habanero pepper and remove the seeds and veins (unless you want the sauce to be very spicy). Fire roast the tomato, unpeeled garlic, and pepper on a cookie sheet under the broiler until the tomato skin starts to blacken. Peel the garlic and place it along with the tomato and pepper in a blender and puree.

Warm the oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot, add the puree. Add salt and pepper and let the sauce reduce over medium-low heat for about 5 or 10 minutes, stirring regularly. The sauce will turn a darker shade of red.

Let the sauce cool a little and then stir some of the tomato sauce into some of the sour cream. Add more of the tomato sauce or more of the sour cream to the mixture until it has the combination of flavor and consistency you like.