Red Chilaquiles With Chicken

By Martha Rose Shulman

Red Chilaquiles With Chicken
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(382)
Comments
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Chilaquiles is a sort of top-of-the-stove tortilla casserole. In its simplest form, it consists of a freshly made salsa into which you stir fried tortillas. Sometimes eggs are added, and sometimes chicken as well. The salsa can be red or green; even thick black beans may be used. I favor microwave-toasted tortillas, but if you don’t have the time, use baked tortilla chips. Serve this right after you’ve stirred in the tortilla chips, because if they’re not fried, they will quickly become soggy.

Featured in: Chicken Dishes, With Less Chicken

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves four
  • 1(28-ounce) can tomatoes
  • 1jalapeño chile, or 2 serranos, seeded for a milder sauce and chopped
  • ¼cup chopped onion, soaked for a few minutes in cold water, drained and rinsed
  • 2garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed
  • 1tablespoon canola oil
  • ½ to 1cup water, chicken or vegetable stock, as needed
  • Salt to taste
  • 1large chicken breast, poached and shredded about 2 cups shredded meat
  • 8corn tortillas, toasted and coarsely broken up, or 2 cups baked tortilla chips

    • For the Garnish

    • ½cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
    • 2tablespoons chopped cilantro
    • 1small red or white onion, cut into thick rings, soaked for five minutes in cold water, then drained, rinsed and dried on paper towels
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

335 calories; 11 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 1022 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the tomatoes, chiles, chopped onion and garlic in a blender, and blend until coarsely pureed.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet or a wide saucepan over medium-high heat, and add a drop of the puree. It should sizzle. Add all of the tomato puree, and cook, stirring, for about five to ten minutes, until the sauce darkens, thickens and begins to stick to the pan. Add water or stock if the mixture seems dry, and season to taste with salt. Turn the heat to low, and simmer, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until the sauce coats the front and back of a spoon. Taste and adjust salt.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the chicken and heat through. Stir in the tortilla chips or pieces, stir together for a half minute, and remove from the heat. Spinkle the cheese, cilantro and sliced onion over the top, and serve.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: The poached, shredded chicken breast will keep for three days in the refrigerator. You can make this dish ahead through step 2 and remove from the heat. Reheat gently and proceed with step 3, then serve right away.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

Ratings

4 out of 5
382 user ratings
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Comments

Patti H

Use Rick Bayless' recipe he has a quick version using fire roasted tomatoes

Anonymous

Thought it needed a lot more spice.

Andy Dufresne

Could make this a vegetarian (not vegan) dish by omitting the chicken and adding sliced avocado to the toppings. Maybe even a handful of corn kernels. Perhaps a drizzle of nonfat greek yogurt.

Justin

Everyone loved it, but if you're planning on feeding 4, this is a very conservative serving size. 2-3 would be more of what I would consider a normal portion.

David Yohalem

It is an old wives tale that deseeding chiles makes them milder. Seeds contain no capsicin, except for that which diffuses from the mesocarp of the chili berry. So, if anything, deseeding will make the chili more piquant, not less. Deveining may help reduce the concentration of capsicin, but not by much. In any case, when I make chilaquiles from scratch, frequently it is as a mildly hungover person who does not care for mondongo or menudo, so I don't bother with the visual aesthetics so much.

Ellen

Loved this recipe. We added some habañero salsa to ours to give it a little more heat, but overall, every bite was delicious. We swapped out the chicken for chorizo and blended that into the sauce like you would the chicken, and it was all eaten up!

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