Chili Verde Chicken Enchiladas

To Prepare the salsa verde:

Put your oven on the “broil” setting.

Remove the outside shell from the tomatillos and wash them very well (they will feel waxy and sticky but this is normal). Cut the tomatillos in half and place them cut-side down on a foil- or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Wrap 4 cloves of garlic (with the skins on) in aluminum foil and place it on the baking sheet with the tomatillos. Place baking sheet in the oven for 8-10 minutes (depending on the strength of your broiler) or until the tomatillo skins are browned and juices are seeping out of them.

Use tongs to put the tomatillos into a blender (or food processor). Unwrap the garlic cloves and place them in the blender along with the rest of the salsa ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Set salsa aside while you’re preparing your enchiladas. This step can be done ahead of time and you can keep the salsa in the refrigerator until you make the enchiladas.

For the chicken enchiladas:

In a sauté pan, heat about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil over medium heat and add the sliced onion. Saute the onion about 5 minutes before adding the sliced bell peppers. Continue sautéing until bell peppers are softened and onion begins turning brown. Remove pan from heat.

Season the chicken breasts with the paprika, chili powder and salt. If you have the time, allow the meat to sit with the seasoning for 15 minutes. The chicken can also sit covered in the refrigerator overnight if desired.

If using a grill, heat it up over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the hot grill and grill on one side for 3 minutes on one side before flipping to the other side. Continue to flip chicken every 2 minutes until cooked all the way through. This should take about 10-12 minutes total, depending on the thickness of your chicken. Be careful not to over-cook.

To assemble: Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Add 1/8 cup to ¼ cup salsa to the bottom of a 9×13 or similar casserole dish. Add desired amount of chicken and peppers to a tortilla and roll it up tightly. Put it into the dish, seam side down. Repeat for the remaining tortillas, packing the enchiladas tightly together in the dish. Drizzle desired amount of salsa verde on top (you may have some leftover salsa, but I used the whole batch), followed by the jack cheese.

Bake enchiladas in the oven 20 minutes until cheese is melted. Then bump the oven up to the broil setting and broil 3-5 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and slightly crispy.

Garnish with your favorite toppings: green onion, guacamole, sour cream (or plain yogurt).