Deep Dish Chicken Enchiladas Montadas

1. In a medium-sized glass mixing bowl, combine the salsa ingredients: chopped tomatoes and juice, 1 cup diced white onion, the serrano pepper, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and cilantro. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. After 30 minutes, taste the salsa and if a spicier version is desired, stir in the reserved seeds.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

3. Put a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add 2 ½ cups of the salsa prepared in Step 1 as well as the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, 3 cloves of the minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, tomato sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil while stirring then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cover.

4. While the sauce is cooking set a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the canola oil and once heated add the chicken and cook until browned and thoroughly cooked. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and set aside.

5. Add the remaining 1½ cups of onions to the frying pan and season with a pinch of kosher salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sweat the onions for 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 clove of minced garlic and the oregano and cook for 2 minutes. Return the cooked chicken back to the pan and add the chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Once heated through, remove pan from heat.

6. Spray two 6” soufflé dishes with non-stick spray and layer the prepared ingredients into each dish as follows:

Layer 1: Spread ¼ cup of the sauce (from step 3) on the bottom of the soufflé dish.
Layer 2: Dip 2 tortillas separately into the sauce in the saucepan and lay both on top of the sauce in the soufflé dish.
Layer 3: ¼ cup cheese
Layer 4: One fourth of the chicken mixture
Layer 5: 1 tablespoon of sauce (from step 3)
Layer 6: ¼ cup cheese
Layer 7: 1 sauce dipped tortilla
Layer 8: ¼ cup of sauce (from step 3)
Layer 9: 1 sauce dipped tortilla
Layer 10: ¼ cup cheese
Layer 11: One fourth of the chicken mixture
Layer 12: 1 tablespoon of sauce (from step 3)
Layer 13: ¼ cup cheese
Layer 14: 2 sauce dipped tortillas
Layer 15: ¼ cup of sauce (from setp 3)
Layer 16: ½ cup cheese
Layer 17: One half of the sliced scallions

7. Cover the dishes with aluminum foil, set them on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Then remove the baking sheet from the oven and set it on a rack. Let the casseroles rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with some crispy tortilla chips, a side of refried beans and some shredded lettuce drizzled with any remaining salsa casera, cheese and a little sour cream.