Shrimp Enchiladas with Hatch Chile Sauce
I got some free roasted Hatch chiles in the mail from the Hatch Chile Store in New Mexico. I’d never even seen red Hatch chiles before but they immediately made me think of enchilada sauce.
After blending the sauce, I tasted it and it reminded me — a little too much — of roasted red bell peppers and I started thinking I’d made a mistake. But a good 20 minute simmer on the stove, and it became rich, savory and delicious. The sauce keeps a few days in the fridge if you want to make it one day and assemble the enchiladas another. I also think this sauce would be great with cheese or beef enchiladas.
If your chiles are fresh and not already roasted, it’s easy to do. Wash and dry chiles (you can rub them lightly with oil to speed up the process) and spread them on a broiler pan. Broil for about 2-3 minutes on each side until blackened and blistered. Put them all into a large bowl and cover the bowl with a plate or something to seal in the heat. Let them steam for 10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Then you can easily peel them, cut off the stems and squeeze or scrape out the seeds. This method works well to roast and peel any kind of chiles. (See Chiles Rellenos for another way to use roasted chiles.)
Shrimp Enchiladas with Hatch Chile Enchilada Sauce
Shrimp Enchiladas with Hatch Chile Sauce
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Ingredients
- 1 pound roasted, peeled red Hatch chiles
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon oil or lard
- 10–12 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3–4 ounces white melting cheese cut into strips (Oaxaca, Monterey Jack, even mozzarella)
- 10–12 corn tortillas
- Optional, but recommended: 1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
Instructions
- Make the Hatch chile enchilada sauce: Remove stems and seeds from chiles and put into the blender with water, onion, garlic, vinegar, salt and oregano. Puree until smooth.
- Heat the oil and cumin seeds in a skillet until sizzling. Turn heat to low and carefully add the pureed sauce. It may pop. Stir and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and add more salt or vinegar if it needs it . Set aside.
- Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel and lightly salt and pepper them. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until sizzling. Add shrimp in a single layer and cook for about 45 seconds on each side until barely pink. (They will cook more in the oven so be careful not to overcook now)
- To assemble:
- Set oven to 350ºF (Or see below for microwave instructions)
- Spread 1/4 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9×11″ pan. Warm tortillas on a dry skillet over medium heat until pliable.
- Dip a tortilla into the sauce on both sides. Fill with 3-4 shrimp and a strip of cheese. Roll up and put into pan seam-side-down. Roll all enchiladas that way. Spread remaining sauce over the top.
- Bake 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Or microwave on medium power for 7 minutes.
- Top with sour cream before serving.
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Can’t wait to try this. Looks so good.
Enjoy, Anna!
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Red chilE for enchiladas does not traditionally use vinegar. And the sauce is pressed through a sieve, after blending, to remove seeds and skin. Also, northern and southern New Mexican cooking differs in seasonings, i.e., norteños do not use cumin in their red chile. (And no bell peppers, in any region!) Thank you. Oh, and ‘chili’ is with meat and beans or no beans, or a sauce by Heinz, not the green or red versatile fruits we here so dearly prize. Thank you.
Chile is addicting… life is bland without it. YuM!
YOU NAILED IT!!!!????