Enchiladas de Pollo con Salsa de Chile Tomatillo Carbonizado

The love of tomatillos have been with me for years. Roasting or charring the tomatillo is brings out their sweetness and blends nicely with their natural tartness. Similarly, boiling or simmering them brings out the sweetness as well. But the char gives a wonderful complexity to the salsa you make. Chicken Enchiladas with Charred Tomatillo Salsa is a great way to use the tomatillos.

Origin of the Enchilada

History of Enchiladas can be traced back to the pre columbian era before Columbus made his way to the Americas. Aztecs were known to eat meals of small fish wrapped in tortillas.

When Spanish Conquistadors ventured into what is now Mexico, they learned of Mayans eating foods in tortillas. Overtime the enchilada evolved with different fillings, and different sauces.

Southwest Mexican Food

The U.S. annexed Texas in 1845. Then in 1848 a large portion of the Mexican territory, which included land which now includes, New Mexico, Arizona, California which now make up the Southwest of United States.

This annexation of the Mexico territory introduced Mexican food into the existing American food culture at the time. The blending of traditional cooking from Mexico and the cooking styles of Texas brought on Tex-Mex cooking.

Tex-Mex

The term TexMex came from the abbreviation of the Texas Mexican Railway and was shortened to TexMex in the 1870s. As the 1920s approached newspapers began using the hyphenated, Tex-Mex as a term to describe the style of food form the Southwest U.S..

Enchilada, translated means to season with chile, became an introduction to Tex-Mex cooking. Corn tortillas filled with different fillings, chicken, beef, and pork found their way to restaurants. Serving these stuffed and rolled corn tortillas topped with a number of sauces began a new American trend that is still with us today.

Variations of Enchiladas

Some of the popular sauces on enchiladas include:

• Salsa con Chile Rojas (with red chile sauce)
• Salsa Verde or Tomatillo (green sauce or tomatillo sauce)
• con Mole (with mole sauce)
• en Frijoles (in bean sauce)
• and one of my favorites – Enchiladas Suizas (Swiss style Enchiladas)

Enchiladas Suizas origin is another case of where you come from and how traditions are passed down dictate the origin story.

Swiss Immigrants

Origin and history of Enchiladas Suizas will give a quick story of Swiss immigrants arriving in Mexico and introducing Swiss cheese to the culture. Enchiladas topped with tomatillo sauce and a slice or shredded Swiss cheese is one version of the history. Or even the green sauce over the enchiladas with cheese piled white cheese on top resembled the Swiss Alps. Enchilada Suizas is now a popular dish in Switzerland.

French Invasion

The well documented French occupation of Mexico from 1862-1867 tells a tale of how Enchiladas Suizas sauce was an adaptation of the French- Sauce aux Poivrons Vert. A sauce made with bell peppers, veal stock, creme fraiche, onion and seasoning making a green, creamy sauce.

A Mexico City Department Store?

There are a few other versions of how the Suizas dish came about but this one may be one that many believe to be true. Sanborns’ department store in Mexico city began serving their version of Enchilada Suizas in 1950. The department store’s version did not have cheese. Their version of Suizas was simply chicken rolled in corn tortillas and drenched in green sauce. The enchiladas were then topped with white crema.

Whatever origin story you believe, from the foreign influence of France or Switzerland, to enchiladas with green sauce topped with white cheese and crema resembling the Swiss Alps. Even a non cheese enchilada swimming in green sauce that has origins to a department store in Mexico city, you will love this version of enchiladas.

This recipe for Chicken Enchiladas with Charred Tomatillo Salsa is not specifically a Enchilada Suizas but closely resembles the dish with the tomatillo salsa, chicken, corn tortillas and topping with sour cream or crema.

Enjoy!