It taken me a while this year, thanks to my recent obsession with sweet potatoes, but pumpkin has finally made an appearance in my
Cocina. I just couldn't resist a rather large
calabaza de castilla (pumpkin) I saw at
el mercado (the market) a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I got that baby home, I cut it up, set aside the seeds to make
Pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds), and put it on the stove to cook. I ended up with about 12 cups of pumpkin puree to do with as my heart desired. And my heart has been desiring all kinds of yummy pumpkin dishes ever since.
Aside from making my usual favorites like pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie, I have been stirring pumpkin puree into just about everything; smoothies,
tres leches cake (stay tuned for that recipe),
Arroz con Leche (rice pudding), and even enchilada sauce. Yes, enchilada sauce! And it was AMAZING! It knocked all of our socks off. My hubby said it's the best enchilada sauce I've ever made. We loved the pumpkin enchiladas so much, I've already made them twice this month. And they'll probably make another appearance at our table before the month is through.
The pumpkin adds a luxurious velvety texture to the sauce, and the spices (cinnamon, clove, cumin, and paprika) add a hearty robust flavor to the spicy and smoky dried chilies. And the color is absolutely gorgeous!
Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 medium onion, cut in half
- 1 clove garlic
- Cilantro
- 3 dried ancho chilies
- 1 dried guajillo chile
- 1-1/2 cups pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 12 to 16 flour tortillas
- Queso fresco, crumbled
- Thinly sliced red onion, for garnish
- Mexican crema
Directions:
Cook the chicken breasts with half of the onion, the garlic clove, a couple sprigs of cilantro, salt, and enough water to completely cover the chicken. Once the chicken is completely cooked, remove from heat and let cool slightly; shred or chop the chicken.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce. Bring the dried chilies to a boil in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Remove the stems and seeds from the chilies. In a blender, puree the chilies with the water they were cooked in and the pumpkin puree until smooth. Pour the pureed sauce into the same saucepan the chilies were cooked in. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water, 1/4 cup at a time, until desired consistency. Season the sauce with salt, ground cinnamon, paprika, ground cumin, ground cloves, salt and black pepper, adding more spices (if necessary) to fit your taste; set aside.
Finely chop the remaining half of onion. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and saute for about 1 minute. Stir in the shredded chicken, 1 cup of the Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce, and the 1 cup of chicken broth. Cook until heated through.
Now to make the enchiladas. Preheat oven to 350°F. Ladle 1/3 cup of the Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce into an 8 or 9-inch square baking dish. Heat the flour tortillas until soft and pliable. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the chicken down the center of each tortilla and 1 to 2 tablespoons of
queso fresco. Roll tortilla up like a burrito and place seam side down in the baking dish. Top first layer of enchiladas with half of the Pumpkin Enchilada Sauce and about 1/2 cup of crumbled queso fresco. Repeat with a second layer of enchiladas.
Bake enchiladas in oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Top enchiladas with Mexican
crema and garnish with sliced red onion and finely chopped cilantro. Serve with
Refried Beans and
Mexican Rice. Enjoy!
For more delicious Winter Squash recipes, check out what my #SundaySupper friends have cooked up this week...
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Appetizers, Starters, and Condiments
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